Antigua and Barbuda Meet CFATF Regulations
Antigua and Barbuda said this month that it has received an "A" rating from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force for its efforts to prevent money laundering.
The island nation and the CFATF wrapped up their final meetings in Port-of-Spain in late February. The CFATF's evaluation of Antigua and Barbuda had begun in January.
Sir Ronald Sanders, the chief negotiator on financial services for Antigua and Barbuda, said the nation has been found to be fully compliant with all 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which is based in Europe, and all 13 recommendations of the CFATF.
"We have led the way in the region in establishing a well regulated, well supervised financial services sector," Sanders said.
Sanders also said the positive outcome of the negotiations was due to the work of Lester Bird, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda.
"I was pleased to inform Prime Minister Bird of the outcome of these discussions in Port-of-Spain, for without his resolve we would not have been able to overhaul the systems in the convincing way that we have," Sanders said.
IOM Speaker Warns of Competition
Stephen Case, an advisor to the Isle of Man government, recently warned that the island's low taxes and high regulatory standards will not always be all that is needed to attract new businesses.
In 10 to 15 years, Case said, many other financial centers will have implemented the kind of legislation that will enable them to compete with the Isle of Man for businesses looking for a low-tax jurisdiction to call home.
"You do then have to focus on other issues, which is why the economic strategy will be an all-embracing document," Case said. "Taxation cannot stand on its own to lead the way forward. We have to develop a commercial environment which is not only conducive to existing business but newcomers coming in."
Case also warned that the island must move quickly to make sure new jurisdictions don't overtake it.
"As quickly as we move down on tax and as quickly as we are up to pace on regulatory issues then everyone else will ultimately have to be there, so what then is our competitive advantage? One advantage is that hopefully we can have our stall set out first," Case said.
UK - The Next Gambling Capital?
The United Kingdom could be set to become the gambling capital of the world, BBC News Online reported recently.
Owing to the cancellation of the 9 percent betting tax in October of last year, the revenues of many U.K. bookmakers have increased. In addition, as the country relaxes its gambling and betting laws in general, more and more gaming companies are moving back to the United Kingdom from offshore jurisdictions.
The news service quotes Mark Blandford, the chairman of Sportingbet.com as saying that the United Kingdom appears to be ready to overtake other world gambling capitals.
"The U.K. is setting out its stall to become the gambling capital of the world," he said.
Malta Votes to Join EU
Fifty-three percent of Malta residents voted last week in favor of the country becoming part of the European Union. The total turnout for the vote was 91 percent.
The outcome of the highly controversial vote is being contested, however. The NO2EU organization is saying it does not believe the outcome of the vote is valid. "
"All those who wanted to vote yes did so, the MLP's directive offered three options--to vote no, invalidate the vote or abstain--there were those who abstained so I count those with the no vote, there were those who invalidated their vote, whom I also count with the no vote, and there were those who voted no. I am extremely satisfied that out of all the eligible votes, fewer than 50 per cent of yes votes were obtained. This means a victory for the no lobby," said Sharon Ellul Bonici, a spokeswoman for the NO2EU organization.