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NAB financial planner jailed in fraud case
A former National Australia Bank (NAB) financial planner has been jailed for a minimum of five and a half years in a AUS$5 million ($3.85 million) fraud case.Paul Drakos had pleaded guilty to the charges, with prosecutors alleging that he defrauded dozens of investors out of the money by encouraging them to invest in an offshore investment scheme based in the Bahamas, operated by a company called BSI Group.
However, the scheme was not approved by NAB and the investors lost their investments, an Australian court heard.
According to the Australian, Mr Drakos told investors that the scheme was risk free and with capital guaranteed, falsely claiming that BSI was associated with Barclays Bank.
Even when the money was lost, he continued to recruit new investors in order to pay off others who were demanding their money back.
Kickbacks for Ferguson
AMERICAN citizens Eduardo Hillman-Waller and Raul Gutierrez stuck to their promise yesterday and pleaded guilty for their role relating to corruption in the construction of the new Piarco Airport Terminal Building. Hillman-Waller admitted in court to paying kickbacks to Trinidadian businessman Steve Ferguson. Gutierrez admitted that he banked millions of United States dollars in an offshore account in the Bahamas for Ferguson, a former Maritime boss. Both Hillman-Waller and Gutierrez entered plea agreements with the United States Government, which they duly signed before their appearance before US District Judge Paul C Huck in the United States Federal Court.Gutierrez, in his agreement, agreed to repay US$22,556,100 (TT $142,103,430). Of this amount, he will repay to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago US$4 million or TT $25.2 million.
Minding our business in the US
A strong lobby for Caribbean interests in Washington is becoming increasingly more important as, despite rhetoric to the contrary, governments of other countries are aggressively seeking the US government's attention.The need for a strong lobby in Washington on issues vital to the region has been advocated by several regional commentators, me included. Others include David Jessop, director of the Caribbean Council for Europe, Dr Anthony Bryan, Prof Emeritus at the University of Miami, and Dr David Lewis, vice president of Manchester Trade based in Washington.
A few weeks ago, I drew attention to the latest initiative by European Union (EU) tax officials to try to extend the European Union Savings Directive (EUSD) to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Macao, Bahrain, Dubai, Canada and the Bahamas, and I urged that the Caribbean keep a close eye on this development in order to protect their low-tax jurisdictions and preserve their financial services industry.
IPOC report to remain secret
The Finance Ministry does not expect to release a report into the affairs of controversial Bermuda mutual fund IPOC International Growth Fund now or in the foreseeable future.The Ministry made the statement yesterday in response to questions from The Royal Gazette in the wake of a front page story in The Wall Street Journal this week which detailed the long-running international court battle over the fund, which is alleged to be controlled by Russia's Telecommunications Minister and has been found by the Bermuda Supreme Court to have been used for money laundering.
Finance Minister Paula Cox appointed KPMG Advisory Services officials Malcolm Butterfield and Michael Morrison to inspect the affairs of IPOC in 2004 and they submitted the report said to have cost $8 million in August this year.