THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
business@tribunemedia.net
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QC says Sandals workers gained from termination By NEIL HARTNELL nhartnell@tribunemedia.net and NICO SCAVELLA nscavella@tribunemedia.net Sandals decision to terminate its 600-strong Royal Bahamian workforce benefited them more than the union’s preferred option, the resort’s attorney argued yesterday, because it ensured they had funds to meet ‘back to school’ expenses. Wayne Munroe QC said that, in contrast, the Bahamas Hotel, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union’s (BHMAWU) desire for the staff to be “furloughed” would have left many members without money during this critical period. While Sandals would have retained the existing workforce under this option, they would not have received any pay for the two-month period that the Royal Bahamian property was undergoing a $4 million renovation programme. Mr Munroe said: “I have heard all sorts of matters See pg b6
Gained money for ‘back to school’ season Accuses union of looking out for own interests, dues Judicial Review flushed out ‘nolle’ for process abuse
Wayne Munroe QC
The DNA’s leader yesterday expressed fears that investors would view the Bahamas “with jaundiced eyes” following the Panama Papers-style data ‘leak’, and added: “We can’t afford any more reputational damage.” Branville McCartney told Tribune Business he was “taken aback” by revelations that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and its media members, had obtained 1.3 million documents from the Registrar General’s Department’s companies registry. These documents are said to contain information
Fears FDI ‘2nd thoughts’ after document leak Takes declining financial sector ‘down another notch’ Provider backs Companies Registry criticism on 176,000 Bahamasdomiciled companies, trusts and foundations, and See pg b7
Govt ‘lacks credibility’ to probe Registrar’s 1.3m document leak By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Opposition politicians yesterday demanded that the Government swiftly investigate whether the ‘leak’ of 1.3 million corporate documents from the Registrar General’s Department resulted from a data security breach, amid calls for the Attorney General to be reassigned. K P Turnquest, the FNM’s deputy leader, said, See pg b6
Opposition wants investigation into ‘serious breach’ FNM deputy urges that AG be reassigned Save the Bays: Warning to House committee
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Bahamas ‘No. 1 target’ via Panama-style leak By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas yesterday became the world’s ‘number one target’ among international financial centres (IFCs), after it fell victim to a Panama Papers-style leak of 1.3 million documents. Politicians and financial services providers warned that the Bahamas was now facing “a continual onslaught” that threatens to undermine its reputation,
DNA leader: ‘We are the world’s bulls eye’ 1.3m documents ‘leaked’ from Companies Registry Financial services faces greatest attack since 2000
Bran McCartney
after data obtained from the companies registry at the Registrar General’s Department was published for a global audience to view. The ‘leaked’ data was obtained by the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and published in a worldwide database built by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) - the same two organisations that disclosed the so-called ‘Panama Papers’. See pg b4
Bahamas faces ‘hostile economic dismantling’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Bran: ‘Jaundiced eyes’ now viewing Bahamas By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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The FNM’s deputy leader yesterday accused the OECD and other foreign actors of being “intent on dismantling this country’s economic base in a most hostile way”, after the Bahamas fell victim to a Panama Papersstyle leak. K P Turnquest told Tribune Business that elements in the international community had disregarded the
FNM deputy slams global attacks on this nation But concedes need to reassess tax structure Nation at ‘ground zero; only way is up’
Bahamas’ compliance with all global tax and regulatory initiatives, and now appeared intent on driving it out of the financial services industry. However, he called for the Bahamas to reassess its ‘no tax’ financial services business model as a way to “meet its detractors head on” and again become “the jurisdiction of choice”. Speaking after some 1.3 million documents, relating to 176,000 Bahamas-domiciled companies, trusts and foundations were allegedly
‘leaked’ from the Registrar General’s Department’s Companies Registry, Mr Turnquest took aim at the forces seemingly ranged against this nation. “It is clear that there are international interests unconcerned with the facts, or the tremendous efforts the jurisdiction has been engaged in to keep pace with the changing landscape, but instead intend on dismantling this country’s economic base in a most hostile way,” he told See pg b5