MONEY MATTERS
Canada Invests $800,000 to Assist Region Fight Crime
Canada says it is providing assistance to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in their fight to deal with crime. Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Diane Ablonczy said Ottawa is providing Barbados with Ballistics Identification Equipment. She said Canada is also establishing a Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN) for the Caribbean Basin, with an initial investment of CAN$800,000 (US$797,700). Ablonczy said the funds will be used to purchase equipment that the Royal Barbados Police Force can use to link crimes, guns and suspects, both locally and throughout the Caribbean to other IBISequipped sites. She said RIBIN would help CARICOM states “identify and track bullet casings through ballistic identification and information sharing” and that it would
lead to more successful investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed with firearms. “Security issues in the Caribbean are of great concern to Canada, and have an impact throughout the hemisphere. Transnational criminal activity not only undermines democracy, prosperity and the rule of law within our hemisphere, but also affects the safety of Canadians and the security of Canadian interests at home and in the region,” she said, adding “insecurity in the hemisphere affects us all; so it is also true that improved security will benefit us all.” Ablonczy said Canada is also providing two million dollars (US$1.9 million) in the crime effort, adding that it is funded by Canada’s Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP). The ACCBP supports
Rescue For Over 18,000 British American Policyholders A decision taken last year to recapitalise the Eastern Caribbean operations of the collapsed British American Insurance Company (BAICO) has made it more attractive to investors. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for St. Kitts and Nevis, reported that the decision to pump US$30 million from the Liquidity Support Fund into recapitalising BAICO's traditional insurance business and preparing it for sale was now bearing fruit. Dr. Douglas said a number of bidders had demonstrated an interest in purchasing the recapitalised portfolios of BAICO's business, and they were now being enBusinessFocus July / Aug
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gaged with a view to concluding the sale transaction during the course of the current year. The recapitalisation decision was taken by the governments of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), led by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), to assist policyholders who suffered immensely as a consequence of BAICO’s collapse. Dr. Douglas reported that 18,700 policyholders would benefit from this important step with St. Kitts and Nevis having 3,960 beneficiaries, the second largest number of beneficiaries in any one country in the ECCU.
countries in the Americas to prevent and respond to threats posed by transnational organised criminal networks operating throughout the western hemisphere, Ablonczy said. She said the IBIS TRAX-3D systems are being implemented by Forensic Technology Inc. Regional Security System of the Eastern Caribbean, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Justice Section, and were deployed in January. “IBIS TRAX-3D is an excellent tool for helping police link firearm crimes and identify suspects,” said Robert Walsh, president of Forensic Technology Inc, noting that “as more Caribbean countries join RIBIN, more evidence of transnational crime is gathered, thereby enriching the network and providing more investigative leads for police.”
Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for St. Kitts and Nevis In assessing the kinds of insurance policies which were to be recapitalised and sold, traditional policies including whole life, endowments and term life policies were identified. However, Home Life Service, Ordinary Life and Universal Life policies have also been included, Douglas noted. The Liquidity Support Fund is derived from the CARICOM Petroleum Fund, which was established by Trinidad and Tobago in 2004 to provide relief to CARICOM Member States experiencing economic hardship, resulting from persistently high international prices for crude oil and petroleum products.