business@tribunemedia.net
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018
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Gov’t to ‘get cracking’ on cruise shake-up By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
T
he Tourism Minister yesterday pledged to “get cracking” on Prince George Wharf’s overhaul, revealing that cruise ship crew spend more in St Maarten than their passengers do in Nassau. Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business that “the time has come to put pen to paper” on the transformation of Nassau’s cruise port, and its outsourcing to private sector management, with St Maarten illustrating just how much the Bahamas needs to improve.
* St Maarten’s crew spend higher than Nassau visitors * Minister: Crew must be ‘won over to Bahamas’ * Pledges to ‘put pen to paper’ on port overhaul Speaking after himself and Frankie Campbell, minister of transport, returned from a ‘fact finding’ mission to the D’AGUILAR Caribbean’s highest-yielding cruise destination, Mr D’Aguilar said the Bahamas had yet to unlock “the power of
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CRUISE ships docked at Prince George Wharf.
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Web shops: No ‘red flag’ with us By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net WEB shops yesterday slammed claims they are open to financial abuse and responsible for the Bahamas’ recent ‘blacklisting’, G MAJOR saying: “No one can point to any red flags.” Gershan Major, the Bahamas Gaming Operators Association’s (BGOA) chief executive, told Tribune Business it was “virtually impossible” to suggest the sector represented a money laundering/ terror financing risk given the strict regulatory and
* SLAM CLAIMS RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘BLACKLISTING’ * ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ FOR SECTOR TO BE HIGH RISK * SAY ALLEGATIONS HAVE NO FACTUAL BASIS operating standards it is subjected to. The Association, which represents the Bahamas’ licensed domestic gaming operators, yesterday said it was becoming “increasingly concerned” about claims it
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CHARGE BUNGLE ACQUITS TRIO OF FALSE DECLARATION By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A WELL-known businessman and two employees were acquitted of making a false $28,401 US currency declaration because Crown prosecutors failed to charge them with a conspiracy. This meant that allegedly “inconsistent” statements made by James Curling, principal of sand miner, Tycoon Management, and his two workers to Bahamian police and a US Customs and Border Protection Officer could not be used against them. The Court of Appeal, unveiling its rationale for
overturning Mr Curling’s prior conviction, and those of Dion Feaste and Patrick Pinder, found that the offences with which Mr Curling was charged could not be upheld “devoid of the statements” by the three. Acting Justice Milton Evans, in a verdict unanimously upheld by his two fellow Appeal justices, said the evidence also suggested there was no “sinister motive” in Mr Curling giving monies to his workers. And, with the Tycoon Management chief’s conviction and sentence quashed, the ‘abetting’ convictions imposed on Messrs Feaste and Pinder also had to fall away.
Insurance cover ‘did not pay off’ post-Matthew By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has backed industry calls to eliminate VAT on property and casualty insurance, as many policies “did not pay off” following Hurricane Matthew. The bank, in its assessment of the economic damage and loss inflicted by the storm, called for action to reduce insurance costs that are among “the highest
* IDB BACKS VAT ELIMINATION CALLS * INSURANCE COSTS TOP THE REGION * BANK CALLS OUT POOR INFRASTRUCTURE UPKEEP in the Caribbean” in a bid to make private coverage more affordable for a wider cross-section of Bahamian homeowners. It added that
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Irma to widen deficit by $44m By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net HURRICANE Irmarelated reconstruction is expected to widen the 20172018 fiscal deficit by $44 million, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has warned. The multilateral lending institution, in its assessment of the economic loss and damages inflicted by last September’s storm, said the main macroeconomic effects would be felt in the Government’s finances and balance of payments
* AND EXPAND TRADE BALANCE DEFICIT BY $40M * EXPORTS TO DECLINE 2% FROM MORTON IMPACT * BUT HOTEL REPAIRS TO BOOST FDI BY 5% as construction-related imports increased. “The rehabilitation and reconstruction effort is therefore expected to
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* Tycoon chief, workers not hit with ‘conspiracy’ * Meant ‘inconsistent’ statements can’t be used The trio were previously convicted by Magistrate Samuel McKinney on July 18, 2016, for breaching the Bahamas Preclearance Agreement Act by failing to declare they possessed more than $10,000 in US currency when travelling through Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) to the US on August 14, 2015. The conviction, which also included making a false declaration, was based on the prosecution’s claim that the $28,401 was distributed between the three men in
such a way that they each had less than $10,000 on them to “avoid detection”. Edward Levi, a US Customs and Border Protection Officer, testified that both Pinder and Feaste were referred to ‘secondary screening’ after revealing they were carrying $9,075 and $9,000 in US currency, respectively. “Officer Levi testified that he had further conversations with appellants Pinder and Feaste, whereby he learned that they both worked for appellant Curling, who was scheduled to
travel to Orlando, Florida that same day,” Acting Justice Evans wrote. “Officer Levi further averred that appellants Pinder and Feaste informed him that it was appellant Curling who had purchased the tickets on which they were travelling. According to Levi, one of the appellants provided him with the cellular phone contact for appellant Curling. He then made contact with appellant Curling by phone.” Mr Curling was by then in the airport’s departure lounge, and the judgment
recorded: “Officer Levi further testified that the person on the phone identified himself as James Curling, and confirmed that appellants Pinder and Feaste were his employees. “According to Levi, appellant Curling told him that he had given both appellants Pinder and Feaste $9,000 US dollars each to carry on his behalf.” Mr Curling then returned to ‘secondary screening’, where his currency declaration form was assessed. He had declared that he was not carrying $10,000 or more US dollars, and was found to only be in
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