PUT CENTRAL BANK IN CHARGEBy Clint Chan Tack and Sean Douglas Wednesday, October 7 2009
AT least six of the nine Independent Senators yesterday vehemently objected to plans by Government to place a financial intelligence unit (FIU) in the Ministry of Finance.
While stating that they understood the Government’s need to pass the legislation before the end of the week to ensure the country is not blacklisted by international financial institutions, the senators warned the unit could be politically compromised if it reports directly to the Minister of Finance and should instead be placed under the Central Bank.
They sounded their common warning during debate on the Financial Intelligence Unit Bill 2009 in the Senate yesterday. Criminologist Professor Ramesh Deosaran, the most senior of all nine Independents, was the first one to wave a red flag to the Government. Noting the FIU will be empowered to investigate the financial affairs of citizens in order to determine whether money laundering or terrorist financing was taking place, Deosaran warned Government: “ You are entering into very sacred ground. You are attacking very severely the (fundamental rights of citizens) in Section Four of the Constitution.”
He said to remove any fears on the part of the population that the unit would not be used for “political witch-hunts,” the FIU should not be placed in the Finance Ministry and into a position where “who pays the piper calls the tune.” “The minister is a politically exposed person. We have to remove all suspicion,” Deosaran declared. The senator said he did not see how the public could have confidence in the unit when it is “cozily etched to the Minister.”
Deosaran added the fears of the public would be greatly allayed if the FIU was placed under the Central Bank instead. He said the bill must be passed with a sunset clause that would allow it to be amended in Parliament within six months from yesterday because “there are serious issues which need to be addressed” which could not be dealt with now.
Stockbroker Subhas Ramkhelawan supported the bill but said the way Government was trying to pass it “is almost as if a gun is being put to our head.”
“We find ourselves as a nation with our backs against the wall. I find it very difficult to support this weak legislation,” Ramkhelawan stated.
Sharing Deosaran’s concerns about the FIU being placed in the Finance Ministry, Ramkhelawan said the unit must not be politicised or perceived to be politicised. He suggested the head of the unit be appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. He was concerned about what would happen after the bill is passed.”
We are reasonably good at passing legislation but weak on enforcement,” he said. Ramkhelawan also asked whether police officers would receive special training to investigate financial crimes. Retired diplomat Corrine Baptiste-McKnight rejected the bill on many counts, but was confident Government could devise a more acceptable bill.
“It will not be hard for the Government to bring a bill to get all of our support. This bill is not it,” she stated. “It is not rocket science. Almost every speaker on this side, and I agree, has said this FIU should not be intricately woven into the Ministry of Finance,” she added. Baptiste-McKnight demanded the removal of clause 4 (a) of the bill which gives the Finance Ministry the right to instruct the FIU and for the unit to accept those instructions.
“That ought not to be there at all,” she stated bluntly. Baptiste-McKnight blamed Government for trying to rush a late bill through the Senate which was “deficient” and “minimalist.”
Retired banker Helen Drayton lamented the duress that senators were being placed under to pass the bill and said she refused to let any proverbial gun be placed to her head.
Drayton said, “I don’t feel I have any gun to my head or trapped. If the bill is not passed, it’s due to the inaction of the Government.”
She rejected references made by National Security Minister Martin Joseph about FIUs in the finance ministries in other countries.
“I am not prepared to aspire to the standards of Antigua or Haiti or the Bahamas. The Government must know that by placing the FIU in the Ministry of Finance, it runs a high risk of allegations of corruption and collusion. Why are we not aspiring to higher standards,” Drayton declared.
While she was prepared to stay all night to do the bill properly, Drayton said Government must agree with all senators on a solution that does not compromise the country’s integrity. “We cannot subject ourselves to all this duress when all we are trying to do is seek the interest of the public,” she stated.
Businesswoman Gail Merhair said crime and punishment were not the Finance Ministry’s business. Observing that many citizens are distrustful of the politicians and the police, especially where control of people’s information is concerned, Merhair stated: “I am not getting (a feeling) from the bill that it protects people’s information going into the public domain.”
She also expressed concern about the absence of a list of qualifications for FIU officers compared to the detailed list of criteria for personnel in the Emergency Ambulance Services Bill.
