11052018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2018

$4.99

Public health system NHI’s ‘Achilles heel’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman has warned that the public healthcare system remains the revamped National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme’s “Achilles heel”.

Emmanuel Komolafe, pictured, in an interview with Tribune Business, reiterated previous private sector alerts that the Government’s NHI objectives of broadening access to quality healthcare, and improved outcomes, will be undermined unless the existing healthcare system is strengthened.

“The reality is that our funds are finite and resources are limited,” he said of the realities facing the NHI scheme. “Hence, significant reliance will have to be placed on the public healthcare system; in particular, healthcare facilities under the oversight of the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA).

“This is why there has to be collaboration and a shared vision for healthcare in The Bahamas. The PHA will play a major role in determining the quality of care delivered under the High Cost Care programme [for catastrophic illnesses].

The public healthcare system, if not strengthened and upgraded, may very well be the Achilles heel of the revamped programme.”

Such warnings were sounded on multiple occasions under the Christie administration only for the then-government to largely ignore them as it raced to roll-out NHI before the May 2017 general election in a last-ditch bid to deliver on prior promises.

“There has to be heavy reliance placed on the

SEE PAGE 5

$5.03

$5.05

Doctors, insurers told: Cut fees for viable NHI

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A

LL doctors, healthcare facilities and insurers must cut their fees if the revised National Health Insurance (NHI) model is to succeed and be financially viable, a Cabinet minister has warned.

Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, told Tribune Business that “compromise” over service charges and pricing was required at “every step along the healthcare delivery pathway” for the NHI scheme to be sustainable.

In return, he said healthcare providers and insurers will gain access to a “massively expanded market” through NHI’s broadening of

* Minister: ‘Compromise at every step’ needed * ‘Massively expanded market’ in return * Scheme to transform healthcare pricing coverage to Bahamians who were previously unable to afford private medical coverage and/or go outside the public system.

“In order for this thing to be workable, there has to be compromise at every step along the healthcare delivery pathway,” Dr Sands confirmed to this newspaper. “It could certainly not exist if we maintain the cost structure we have now.

“The expectation is that everybody ought to look at shaving some part of their rack rate. That includes practitioners, insurers, insurance DR Duane Sands.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ACCOUNTS at two Bahamian banks, alleged to contain bribery proceeds from a massive $1.2bn money laundering scheme tied to top Venezuelan officials, are targeted for seizure by the US government.

Court documents obtained

by Tribune Business reveal that US federal authorities want to seize assets held in bank accounts with Deltec Bank & Trust and Ansbacher (Bahamas) as part of a crackdown on corruption linked to the Nicolas Maduro-led regime.

The planned Bahamas seizures relate to $12m in bribes that a senior executive at PDVSA has admitted to receiving for his role in helping to loot, and asset strip, Venezuela’s state-run oil company of millions of dollars.

Abraham Edgardo Ortega, who was PDVSA’s executive director of

VENEZUELAN President Nicolas Maduro.

Photo: Ariana Cubillos/AP financial planning, in his plea agreement with US authorities agreed to forfeit “all assets on deposit in account/ portfolio number 130331100 at Deltec Bank & Trust in Nassau, The Bahamas”.

And he committed to doing similar with “all assets on deposit in account number 200020600 at Ansbacher Ltd in The Bahamas, held in the name of Greatwalls FS”. There is nothing to suggest that Deltec, Ansbacher and their respective

SEE PAGE 4

KPMG, whose previous $8.3m National Health Insurance (NHI) fee was heavily criticised by the Government, has been rehired for a sum “nowhere near that ball park”.

Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, defended the accounting firm’s new NHI consultancy on the basis that it was needed to perform “critical analysis” that neither the Government nor any of its agencies were able to perform themselves.

No figures were provided for KPMG’s new fees, but Dr Sands said they were well below what the former Christie administration had committed to pay over the 15 months through to June 2017.

“The NHI Authority would have hired KPMG to do some of the critical analysis that could not be done in-house,” the minister told this newspaper. “There was a requirement for technical

KP TURNQUEST

Few prosecutions show antifinancial crime regime works

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

expertise that did not exist in the NHI Authority.

“They had to get the work done, mindful of the excesses of the past, and I think it has helped quite a bit without the spend and burn rate seen previously.”

When asked how KPMG’s compared to those agreed under the Christie administration, Dr Sands replied: “They’re not even in the same ball park.”

Tribune Business raised the issue of KPMG’s renewed NHI involvement after being informed that the accounting firm’s executives had accompanied the NHI Authority’s chairman, Dr Robin Roberts, and managing director, Graham Whitmarsh, in recent meetings with private sector groups such as The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA).

The move comes around one year after Dr Sands criticised the near-$14m in fees lavished on NHI

THE Deputy Prime Minister is arguing that The Bahamas has relatively few money laundering prosecutions because its regulatory regime is successfully deterring financial criminals.

Flipping a key aspect of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) rationale for branding The Bahamas one of 11 nations with “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering/ counter terror financing regimes (AML/CFT), KP Turnquest said the few prosecutions should be seen as a strength and not necessarily a weakness.

Addressing a Caribbean Regional Compliance Association conference in Barbados, Mr Turnquest said: “Now, I’m not disputing that there is continued work needed to be done to improve the effectiveness of our enforcement measures - The Bahamas has recently amended its Proceeds of Crime Act and the Financial Transactions Reporting Act to bolster supervisory enforcement capabilities.

“I would contend that the fact that there have not been a large number of AML/CFT related prosecutions could be because our measures are working effectively at the front end. That is only my view, of course. It would appear, however, that the more we comply with the rules, the more they find novel ways of determining that our compliance is deficient.”

Among the seven areas that the FATF, the so-called global standardsetter on financial crime, wants The Bahamas to address are proof that the authorities are “investigating and prosecuting all types of money laundering,

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 6

SEE PAGE 4

Bahamas bank accounts Re-hired NHI consultant’s targeted for US seizure fee ‘not in $8.3m ball park’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$5.05

PAGE 2, Monday, November 5, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Shell eyes power plant’s ‘synergies’ on LNG bunkering

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net SHELL North America’s proposed multi-fuel power plant for New Providence will provide “natural synergies” for liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering, a senior executive says.

Mark Regis, Shell’s country chair for the English and Dutch Caribbean (excluding Trinidad and Tobago), said that while the energy giant’s immediate sights were set on the LNG-led power plant, for which it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) on Friday, it sees “potential” in LNG bunkering in The Bahamas.

Mr Regis said Shell already has an agreement with at least one cruise line which calls on The Bahamas, Carnival Cruise Line.

Last November, Carnival announced that it had signed an agreement with Shell North America to supply two new ships with LNG. Those ships, scheduled to debut after 2020, will likely be the first fullypowered LNG ships in North America.

“We see some natural synergies between putting in this new LNG infrastructure with bunkering in new fuels like LNG bunkering. We do see that there is an opportunity,” said Mr Regis. “Shell would be interested in any new business opportunities that would arise.

“We do see that synergy between the LNG supply for power and, since you’re creating new berthing facilities and marine infrastructure, it is fairly easy to add on LNG bunkering to that. We do see the business opportunities with working

BPL Clifton Pier plant.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

with the cruise industry. We do have strategic relationships already, and certainly one that operates in The Bahamas.”

Mr Regis added: “The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) 2020 rules will require cruise liners to change out their fuel systems, and to use cleaner fuels and, therefore, LNG as a cleaner burning fuel would be a great option. It adds optionally to The Bahamas’ existing bunkering business.”

Back in April, Shell North America’s was confirmed as the successful bidder out of 19 companies considered by BPL’s board for the new power plant to supply New Providence’s energy needs.

When asked why Shell had gotten into the mix, Mr Regis said: “Shell is always looking for new markets for its various energy products. The Bahamas is nicely located, fairly close to our North American and eastern seaboard supply markets for LNG, but it can also be supplied from the south, from Trinidad and Tobago, where we have a large interest in the Atlantic LNG. We are pleased to be partners with the Government of The Bahamas as it looks to transition from

DR DONOVAN MOXEY other types of fuels.”

Mr Regis, when pressed, said it was too early to offer any specifics on the new power plant such as cost, timelines, and likely sale price of LNG back to BPL. “It’s very early stages. We need to look at the project in its totality and make a determination. At this time we couldn’t say anything about cost,” he said.

BPL’s chairman, Dr Donovan Moxey, said the targeted timeline for the plant to be operational is 2022. The signing of the MOU on Friday follows months of speculation, as the deal was initially slated for signing months ago, but was reportedly sidelined by a BPL boardroom battle that resulted in all directors on the former board resigning or being removed.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 5, 2018, PAGE 3

BAHAMAS DEVELOPERS BLAST OECD’S ‘CYNICAL’ TARGETING BAHAMAS-BASED developers have blasted the OECD’s “cynical” attempt to ““delegitimise” this nation’s key investment product by suggesting it threatens the global fight against tax evasion.

The newly-formed Bahamas Developers Association (BDA), in a recent statement, argued that the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) was wrong to list this nation’s economic permanent residency regime offering among 21 incentive regimes it claims jeopardise “the integrity” of automatic tax information exchange.

“It’s unclear to us why the OECD would seek to undermine The Bahamas’ permanent residency programme when thousands of foreign investors are approved annually for economic citizenship across the globe,” said the BDA. “High-net-worth-individuals (HNWI) could choose to live anywhere on earth.

They choose The Bahamas as it’s the best option for them whether it’s for lifestyle, location, political and economic stability, or peace of mind.

“It’s incorrect to assume those who choose economic residence in The Bahamas pose a high risk to the integrity of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), as ours is a legal, structured programme which does not confer citizenship and

requires the individual to comply with the tax laws of their birth nation,” the BDA continued.

“In some jurisdictions, citizenships and residency programmes have led to more expats than natural-born citizens. By international standards, our economic permanent residency programme is conservative. We applaud the Government for remaining unwavering in its commitment to this investment initiative.”

The OECD caught the Government, the financial services industry and wider private sector off-guard last month when it singled out The Bahamas’ economic permanent residency for allegedly undermining the fight against global tax evasion.

KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, subsequently argued that The Bahamas’ inclusion on the OECD list was of “no real concern” because this nation granted economic permanent residency for investment - rather than tax - purposes. He added that significant due diligence was conducted on applicants, who still had to meet their tax obligations to other nations.

However, the listing still threatens to negatively impact a wide cross-section of the Bahamian economy, and not just the hard-pressed financial services industry. Besides attracting high net worth clients and their assets to

this nation, economic permanent residency drives lucrative business for the BDA and its real estate developers, realtors and attorneys, and produces spin-offs affecting virtually all industries.

While the OECD’s list, and accompanying report, did not mention the imposition of sanctions or penalties against The Bahamas and 20 other countries, it did call on financial institutions to apply greater scrutiny to persons benefiting from their investment-related residency and citizenship programmes when it came to determining their tax compliance.

This enhanced due diligence, and likely extra costs and time involved, could deter wealthy investors and homeowners from applying for Bahamian permanent economic residence - thereby undermining a key component of the foreign direct investment (FDI) regime that has been in place for decades.

The Bahamas, since the International Persons Landholding Act (IPLA) was passed in 1993, has used economic permanent residency as a tool to help entice high net worth individuals to make a financial investment in this nation primarily through property purchases.

The threshold to qualify for economic permanent residency was recently increased to $750,000 for a real estate purchase.

Applicants who acquire a

BLUE HILLS RELIANCE HITS BPL CUSTOMERS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light’s (BPL) chairman has conceded that increased dependence on its Blue Hills power station, which uses a more expensive fuel, has added to the recent spike in customer electricity bills.

Dr Donovan Moxey said: “The spikes in the cost of electricity are due to a number of factors. We lost some critical assets at Clifton Pier. We lost about 60-70 megawatts (MW) that was used to generate electricity for New Providence. Those were running on heavy fuel oil or bunker C, which is the least expensive.

“We had to shift that load to Blue Hills, which runs on ADO (diesel oil), which is much more expensive than the HFO. With the shift we ended up using more expensive fuel and, right now, our mix is about 70 percent ADO and 30 percent HFO. “That’s what caused the spike in the cost of electricity.

We are working on getting other assets at Clifton back online. The assessment is still being done into the fires, and we are also looking at bringing on additional assets in

time for summer of next year.

Our hope is to shift most of our base load back to Clifton Pier.”

Mr Moxey added that the deal with Shell, which calls for the construction of multifuel power plant, will bring about lower energy costs for consumers. “One of the largest components of cost for any utility is power generation. One of the reasons we can see our cost coming down is we are shifting the cost of generating power to an IPP, independent power producer,” he said.

“An IPP’s sole goal is to make sure that power that is generated is in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

The second component that will affect cost is the energy that we use. Right now we are using heavy fuel oil or bunker C and automated diesel oil (ADO), which are fairly expensive fuels to use for power generation. BPL is getting out of the generation business and Shell is looking to use LNG, and those are things that go towards cost factors and quite naturally we expect a reduction in cost.”

Dr Moxey added that the Shell deal should bring an end to power generation issues. “The power

generation assets BPL has, a lot of them have been around 30-40 years. Quite a number are at the end of life. Some of the issues we experienced with blackouts are due to the fact that we have old generation equipment,” he said.

“In addition to that there are some issues with transmission and distribution we are looking to fix. When you talk about engaging an independent power producer and doing a PPA (power purchase agreement), it is their job to keep generation running to the agreed level that we have worked with them to establish. If they live up to that we should have little to no power generation issues.”

Dr Moxey added that BPL is also working on its revised renewable energy plans. “We are working on the revised renewable energy plans in concert with the project by the IDB, and the goals set by the Office of the Prime Minister,” he said.

“We expect to have that plan completed very shortly.

We recognise that we are transitioning to having renewable energy in BPL, and we are moving ahead with our Family Island initiatives as it relates to renewable energy.”

property worth $1.5m can seek accelerated consideration, and approval, of their application.

A newly-established association, the BDA’s formation in summer 2018 was intended to tackle issues of common concern that could negatively impact this nation’s high-end, second home-market. Its members include prominent developers, attorneys and real estate professionals.

The OECD, in unveiling its listing, said all the regimes - including The Bahamas’ economic permanent residency “potentially pose a high-risk to the integrity of CRS”.

That refers to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD’s global reporting standard for automatic tax information exchange, which The Bahamas began implementing last month.

It added that all the investment-related residency/citizenship products identified “can be potentially misused” to enable individuals to “hide their assets offshore by escaping reporting” requirements under the CRS. “Potentially high-risk CBI/RBI (citizenship by investment/residency by investment) schemes are those that give access to a low personal income tax rate on offshore financial assets, and do not require an individual to spend a significant amount of time in the location offering the scheme,” the OECD, which represents the world’s most

powerful economies, added.

It said data obtained from the CRS’s automatic tax information exchange initiative had shown these regimes were open to “abuse”, describing those posing the greatest risk as levying less than a ten percent income tax on beneficiaries. There was also no requirement for persons to remain in the jurisdiction offering the incentive regime for a minimum of 90 days per year.

The BDA, though, accused the OECD of seeking to “de-legitimize” the many legitimate reasons individuals have for

pursuing citizenship or permanent residency outside their home country.

“This cynical approach taken by the OECD seeks to disadvantage The Bahamas and other jurisdictions as viable options to socalled developed nations.

It’s time for the OECD to place the blame for fleeing citizens where it belongs,” said the BDA. “While the OECD views our permanent residency as a loophole strategy, we view it as the best legitimate option for those who not only want to own, but also belong to paradise.”

DEYANE E. RUSSELL & Co. All former clients of Deyane E. Russell & Co. are requested to collect your files at chambers, 79 Montrose Avenue, Nassau, The Bahamas from Monday November 5, 2018- Friday November 9, 2018 between 10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

All outstanding accounts must be settled.

PAGE 4, Monday, November 5, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Doctors, insurers told: cut fees for viable NHI FROM PAGE ONE brokers; everybody along the path in exchange for a massively expanded market.

“When you’re talking about a market that is currently 33 percent, and could in short order be 55 percent and, ultimately at 90 percent depending on the pace of enrollment, I think this augurs well for every stakeholder in the delivery of healthcare services.” There was no mention of how much fees for both providers and healthcare facilities may have to be cut.

The NHI policy paper, released to kickstart public consultation on the revised scheme’s merits, underscores the Government’s belief that mandating private health insurance for all working Bahamians via a phased roll-out will expand coverage levels from the present one-third of the population to 55 percent by 2022.

To achieve this, and finance healthcare for the unemployed, retirees, children and those with pre-existing illnesses, the Government is attempting through NHI to transform the pricing and cost structure for the provision of

medical services throughout The Bahamas.

Dr Sands confirmed as much when this was put to him, with the proposed NHI scheme set to switch doctor and healthcare provider compensation from a margin/price-driven basis to one largely dictated by volume.

The Minister said NHI was seeking to move Bahamian healthcare away from “the old-fashioned concept” of fee-for-service, where providers at every stage of the treatment process levied their own charges, to “a global fee that is outcome-based”.

He added that such a system, in effect, rewarded patients “that did poorly”, and said: “We’re trying to change that model.

“There’s tremendous cost shifting in The Bahamas,” Dr Sands affirmed, “where typically private patients pay a premium that allows for the delivery of services to public patients.

“What ends up happening for those physicians that straddle the public and private sectors, like myself, is that 60-65 percent of clinical volume was in the public sector. But the vast majority of my income was generated in the private sector from

FOR SALE

4 workstations Workstations consist of: Steelcase 54” high, powered & non-powered panels with neutral fabric skins and universal shelves Accompanied by mahogany color, wood veneer L-shaped desk with BBF and FF drawers Excellent Condition Price: $16,000.00 all-together OR $4,500.00 individually Contact: 362-4904

35-40 percent of the client base.

“What that means is if we have an even sharing of costs/charges across all patients, as we have in other systems, we will find industry rack rates drop. It’s why there’s such pressure to move Bahamian patients into the south Florida market as the rack rates for physicians and facility fees in the networks there could be lower,” he confirmed.

“In a situation where we have reasonable co-operation from all at significantly reduced rates, the net return for all participants in the industry will improve.”

Dr Sands said transforming the pricing and cost structure of Bahamian healthcare through NHI will lead to the Government’s ultimate goal - improved medical care for more Bahamians that results in better outcomes and a healthier, more productive population.

“It will have some positive effects of decreasing the cost of healthcare services in general and improving the quality delivered to most patients and, hopefully, eliminating discrepancies in outcomes between the public and private health sectors,” he told Tribune Business. “Improving the

quality of care received by most, if not all, patients in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas - that, ultimately, is the goal.”

Dr Sands’ warning that healthcare fees must reduce across-the-board for NHI to work will come as no surprise to the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) and its members, which anticipated this outcome in their response to the scheme last week.

It suggested then that the Standard Health Benefit (SHB), NHI’s minimal benefits package, could only be kept at a $1,000 annual premium if the fees charged by healthcare providers and facilities were “materially lowered”.

“The BIA has maintained that there is a strong correlation between private health insurance premiums and healthcare costs,” the Association said. “The delivery of affordable quality healthcare via the SHB, with an annual premium of $1,000, may only be achievable if the facilities and providers’ fees are materially lowered.”

The NHI Authority, the body that will oversee and administer the revised scheme, has yet to negotiate the fees structure with

doctors and healthcare facilities in either the public or private sector, making it impossible to determine whether the SHB’s proposed premium - to be split between employer and employee - will be sufficient to cover all the services and treatments proposed.

Emmanuel Komolafe, the BIA’s chairman, agreed with Dr Sands that “the fee schedule has to reduce much lower than obtains in the private sector currently” for NHI to be financially sustainable.

Echoing last week’s BIA position paper, he told Tribune Business that once agreed NHI’s charges must become “the universal fee schedule for The Bahamas” in both the public and private healthcare sectors.

“There has to be, on both sides of the discussion, negotiation on the fees,” Mr Komolafe said. “The real number one point is the cost of healthcare; it drives everything else.

“When you’re talking about health insurance premiums, and the calculation and determination of what they will be, the main factor is the cost of healthcare, which accounts for between 75 percent to 85 percent of the premium cost.

“Sometimes, in terms of loss ratios, it can be up to 90 percent. You then add in your administrative costs, salaries, and broker and agent commissions that are created to operate the business sustainably.”

Based on such a structure, the BIA chairman argued, the only way to reduce healthcare costs to the level demanded by NHI is to either reduce the benefits/ services offered to Bahamians or cut prices and fees.

Dr Sands, meanwhile, said NHI’s expansion of health coverage to most Bahamians will force healthcare providers and facilities to “up their game” in terms of care quality and standards if they are to retain patients.

He added that NHI would give insured Bahamians “tremendous buying power that has the ability to improve standards at every provider” as a result of their ability to switch between doctors of dissatisfied with care outcomes and service.

“If you want to attract people to your practice you will have to step up your game, make investments, make the facility more attractive, reduce the length of stay, complications and so on and so forth,” Dr Sands said.

Bahamas bank accounts targeted for US seizure FROM PAGE ONE executives/boards have done anything wrong in relation or Ortega or the wider money laundering scandal.

However, the US asset seizures are especially illtimed for The Bahamas given its recent placement on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) monitoring/ watch list of 11 nations who have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/counter terror financing regimes.

They also highlight the risks facing The Bahamas and its financial services industry in conducting business with Latin America, a region that this country is increasingly targeting, and especially Venezuela amid that country’s economic and social breakdown that has seen millions of its citizens migrate.

Ortega’s plea bargain is linked to the same events that saw Matthias Krull, who was previously bound for a private banking job in The Bahamas, sentenced to ten years in a US federal prison at the end of October.

Krull, who was set to start his new job as a Gonet Bank & Trust (Nassau) managing director before year-end 2018, also admitted his role in facilitating the plan by corrupt Venezuelan government officials to loot PDVSA and enrich themselves at the expense of that country’s people.

Ortega, for his part, besides aiding the same scheme Krull was involved in, also accepted $5m in

bribes in return for securing “priority” status for French and Russian companies in reaching agreements with PDVSA to resolve monies owed to them on their joint venture deals.

The Bahamian bank accounts were used to disguise and launder the bribe payments to Ortega so that they would appear to be clean. Documents filed with the South Florida court reveal that a key role was played by Gustavo Adolfo Hernandez Frieri, principal of a Miami-headquartered financial services brokerage.

He and Ortega, together with a confidential informant (CS) working for the US government, met in Panama in April 2016 to discuss how the $5m “priority” status bribes could be concealed and washed clean, so the “funds would appear to have been legitimately acquired”.

Hernandez Frieri suggested his “fake mutual fund”, a Cayman Islandsdomiciled entity called Global Securities Trade Finance, as the ideal vehicle. He explained it took in money like a normal investment fund to make payments seem legitimate, but then immediately transferred them out, making it appear as if a redemption had been requested.

“On February 24, 2017, the CS instructed Deltec Bank & Trust in Nassau, The Bahamas, where a portion of Ortega’s illicit funds were then held, to subscribe to the fund,” Ortega’s plea agreement reveals.

“On or about February

28, 2017, at the direction of Ortega and Hernandez Fieri, approximately $5m was transferred from an account/portfolio number at Deltec Bank & Trust” to a US financial institution in New Jersey, which held an account for Global Securities Trade Finance, the fake fund.

The $5m was then transferred to another unnamed US financial institution, with the “fake subscription in Global Securities Trade Finance deposited [back] at Deltec Bank, thus making the $5m available to Hernandez Frieri for distribution to Ortega”.

Ortega’s plea agreement also revealed that Hernandez Frieri “assisted in opening an account in The Bahamas and transferring the balance of Ortega’s funds... to that account” from a US financial institution, representing the $7m balance of the $12m bribe payments received by the former PDVSA executive. The Bahamian bank is not named, but its mention in the US court filings indicates it is likely to be Ansbacher.

Deltec Bank & Trust, meanwhile, has become embroiled in the controversy surrounding Tether, the financial technology (Fintech) company whose tokens - unlike traditional cryptocurrencies - are said to be backed by actual fiat currencies such as the US dollar on a one:one basis.

That “peg” has been under pressure in recent months amid increasingly

volatile trading, with Tether’s “token” slipping below the one:one US relationship with the US dollar. Investors have also expressed concern over the company’s transparency and liquidity, amid uncertainty over its banking relationships.

Tether, though, sought to allay these fears by producing a November 1, 2018, letter from Lyford Caybased Deltec Bank & Trust, in which the Bahamian institution said “the portfolio cash value” of its account with it stood at $1.831bn at end-October.

Deltec disclaimed any liability associated with the letter, though, and the document has been questioned since there is no named signatory from the bank listed on it.

Tether, though, said in a statement: “Tether Ltd is pleased to confirm that it has established a banking relationship with Deltec Bank & Trust, a 72-year-old financial institution with headquarters in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“The acceptance of Tether Ltd as a client of Deltec came after their due diligence review of our company. This included, notably, an analysis of our compliance processes, policies and procedures; a full background check of the shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries and officers of our company; and assessments of our ability to maintain the US dollar peg at any moment and our treasury management policies.”

NOTICE In the Estate of RODNEY WILBERT BRAYNEN late of 26 Halifax Road, Stapledon Gardens in the Western District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against the above Estate are required to send the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 10th day of December, 2018, after which date the Administratrix will proceed to distribute the assets having regard only to the claims of which she shall then have had notice.

AND NOTICE is hereby also given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

HIGGS & JOHNSON Chambers Ocean Centre Montagu Foreshore East Bay Street P. O. Box N-3247 Nassau, Bahamas.

Attorneys for the Estate of Rodney Wilbert Braynen

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 5, 2018, PAGE 5

Re-hired NHI consultant’s fee ‘not in $8.3m ball park’ FROM PAGE ONE

consultants by the former Christie administration, more than half of which went to KPMG based on his 2017-2018 budget presentation.

Pointing out then that these “huge sums” could have been better spent upgrading the Bahamian public health system’s crumbling infrastructure, and eliminating personnel shortages, Dr Sands said KPMG had earned $8.383m between April 2016 to June 2017 through its work on NHI. But, given its extensive NHI knowledge and a health practice with a global reach, KPMG’s new engagement by the Government makes sense. However, some doctors have already privately voiced misgivings to Tribune Business about its new role given

Public health system NHI’s ‘Achilles heel’ FROM PAGE ONE public healthcare system,” Mr Komolafe added. “The limited resources mandate they take such an approach, and place significant reliance on the public healthcare system - and delivery in the public health system - to be successful.

“In our discussion on NHI, the elephant in the room is often the cost of healthcare and the state of the public healthcare system. The success

the mistrust over the NHI scheme that developed under the former Christie administration.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Komolafe, the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA)’s chairman, told Tribune Business that the industry had agreed to “go back and price” NHI’s Standard Health Benefit (SHB) with the NHI Authority’s consent.

The agreement comes after the BIA, in its NHI position paper last week, warned that the $1,000 annual premium for the SHB, NHI’s basic package, may “grossly underestimate” the true cost of the scheme’s benefits.

Calling on the Government to produce data and empirical studies that showed how it had determined the scheme’s costs and employer/employee contributions, the BIA in particular questioned how

it could set a $1,000 annual premium when the NHI Authority had yet to agree the fees that doctors and other healthcare providers will charge.

Mr Komolafe, though, disclosed that the NHI Authority had agreed to provide the BIA with the necessary information for the insurance industry to perform a proper actuarial study when the two sides met over the scheme.

“What we are going to do, and the NHI Authority has agreed with this, is to go back and price the Standard Health Benefit (SHB),” he told Tribune Business. “We will price it and provide them with that figure.

“They indicated they want to know what it will cost, they will provide the information, and we will cost it, price it based on the existing network of providers, with a new network of providers possibly emerging

based on the fee schedule.

“We will price it based on the existing cost, fee schedule that exists in The Bahamas, and network that exists, upon receipt of information from the NHI Authority. They really want to know that number; it may be larger than their’s, but it’s a positive development.”

Mr Komolafe added that the NHI Authority were also “open” to pre-approving existing comprehensive health insurance policies that contain most, if not all, the benefits proposed in the SHB package.

The BIA chairman said this would prevent both individuals and their employers, and their health insurance underwriters/brokers, from having to tear up existing coverage to fit in NHI’s SHB package.

“They were open to the idea of pre-approving comprehensive health insurance policies that exist and have

pretty much the same benefits as the SHB,” he said. “If you look at it and it pretty much covers the SHB, we put on the table that you could pre-approve those plans rather than unbundle them. They were open to the idea and didn’t oppose it.”

The NHI Authority, in a statement on the issue, backed the BIA chairman’s take, saying: “Bahamians do not have to give up their existing health insurance under the new NHI programme that the NHI Authority has proposed. If you already have private health insurance coverage, your coverage likely already includes the benefits required under Standard Health Benefit.

“For some, your coverage might change. If you are employed by an organisation that falls under the Employer Mandate with 100 employees or more,

your benefits may be strengthened through the NHI Standard Health Benefit – and you would be sharing the cost of the premium with your employer based on your income.”

Expressing optimism following the BIA’s meeting with the NHI Authority, Mr Komolafe added: “If we work together we could come up with something that works well. I think there is a shared vision and all the points were taken on board, and they will leverage the expertise of professionals.

“This could be a plan that works. We may have to tweak the benefits package and make some adjustments there; we will see. There’s still a lot of work to be done and details worked out. The high level information in the policy paper is good, but when it comes to how NHI works, there is still a lot to be done.”

attributed to the primary care phase of NHI can be linked directly to the healthcare cost management measures (via capitation) and the participation of the private healthcare sector.

By leveraging resources and infrastructure within the private sector and controlling the cost of these services, the NHI programme has been able to maintain its viability to date.

“Unless these key elements of the primary care phase can be duplicated by the NHI Authority, the revamped scheme - which aims to cover catastrophic care - will be challenged.

The distinguishing factor here is that there is more at stake with secondary and tertiary care being covered.

As we are all aware, the proposed health conditions to be covered account for a great proportion of healthcare costs in The Bahamas.”

But Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, told Tribune Business it was “a significant assumption that the public healthcare system will have to carry the burden”, pointing out that NHI would a provide a potential revenue source that the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and other PHA facilities currently lack.

“The public healthcare system rarely, if ever, is the recipient of private dollars,” the minister said. “Imagine an increase of $20m, $30m, $40m directed to the public sector. That’s $40m we don’t have, which translates into

a return to the PHA. “That provides a huge ability to improve services, the recruitment of providers, doctors and nurses, improving the infrastructure.”

Mr Komolafe, meanwhile, called for healthcare reform to be an “holistic” process that focused on wellness and preventative care, as well as the Government’s taxation policies towards the industry.

“On the other side of this discussion is the fee schedule agreed upon by healthcare professionals and practitioners,” the BIA chairman told Tribune Business. “The affordability and access to quality healthcare will be impacted by the fees agreed by medical practitioners.

“This fee schedule will ultimately become the national medical fee schedule and will apply to not just the Standard Health Benefit (SHB) but all health insurance policies issued in The Bahamas. It is the only way we can successfully bend the healthcare cost curve. We will all have to find common ground to make this programme work.

Mr Komolafe added: “Health insurance premiums will fall automatically with a reduction in the cost of delivering the healthcare. There are also mechanisms available to the Government to control the cost of health insurance in The Bahamas, including the regulation of loss ratios.

“However, the Government can reduce the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums immediately by changing its policy in relation to the taxation of healthcare and health insurance premiums.

In the case of the latter, we are talking about a three percent premium tax plus 12 percent VAT. “Concurrently, the taxation of healthy foods must be addressed to make it more affordable for people to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This must be considered in conjunction with initiatives within the ministries of Education, Social Services and Agriculture. The main point is that we must adopt a holistic approach to healthcare reform in The Bahamas.”

VACANCY Higgs & Johnson, a leading full service corporate and commercial law firm, is seeking to hire a Litigation Attorney.

The successful candidate must be specialized in the areas of commercial litigation and employment law; knowledge of insolvency a plus.

Applicant must demonstrate an ability to work independently and possess thorough working knowledge and technical competence in the areas mentioned. Preferably 3-5 years’ relevant experience.

Competitive remuneration package is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Qualified applicants should send their CVs to: gbastian@higgsjohnson.com.

Only applicants with the required criteria need apply.

PAGE 6, Monday, November 5, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Few prosecutions show antifinancial crime regime works FROM PAGE ONE including “complex” money laundering cases, stand-alone money laundering, and cases involving proceeds of foreign offences”.

It also wants The Bahamas to show asset “confiscation proceedings are initiated and concluded for all types of money laundering cases”, with many of its concerns relating to execution issues and a desire to see evidence that this nation is implementing its anti-money laundering/ counter terror financing regime in practice.

Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, recently told Tribune Business that money laundering prosecutions had increased 40-fold over the 14 months to end-September 2018 having risen to 40 from just one in the prior period.

Mr Bethel, referring to statistics issued in a statement from the Attorney General’s Office, said 19 of these cases had resulted in convictions, thereby meeting the FATF’s demand

that The Bahamas prove it is “investigating and prosecuting all types of money laundering”.

Mr Turnquest, echoing a similar theme, said in his address to the association that The Bahamas had shown “quantifiable progress since 2015” - the date of its last evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), whose findings the Paris-based parent has relied upon to justify its recent action.

“Between 2016 and 2017 there was a 46 percent increase in the number of suspicious transactions received, and a 69 percent increase in the number of cases sent to the Royal Bahamas Police Force,” the deputy prime minister said. “We opened 115 more cases in 2017 than we did in 2016. That’s a 131 percent increase in the number of cases that were under active analysis.

“Finally, between 2015 and 2017, suspicious transactions that were analysed and reported closed by our Financial Intelligence Unit represented between

35 percent and 60 percent of all cases received. In one complex case, involving three million euros worth of laundered money, the Government of Argentina publicly commended The Bahamas for the effectiveness of its international cooperation.”

Mr Turnquest said The Bahamas was also waiting on the European Union (EU) to confirm whether planned legislation satisfied its concerns over economic substance (physical presence) and an end to so-called “ring fencing”.

“To address the EU’s concerns on the absence of substance requirements and the elimination of preferential exemptions, we have drafted the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Bill, 2018 and the Removal of Preferential Exemptions Bill, 2018, respectively,” he added.

“Both Bills are currently being reviewed by the European Union to ensure that they adequately remediate the areas of concern.

We anticipate that they will be enacted in November.”

The Government’s efforts to protect the financial services industry and The Bahamas’ reputation were yesterday backed

by Chester Cooper, the Opposition’s deputy leader,

who agreed that the FATF and EU initiatives represented “a constant threat to the livelihood of thousands of Bahamians”.

He added: “They seem to have had The Bahamas in their sights for some time as they continue to unevenly apply punitive measures related to issues of anti-money laundering and taxes to our country’s financial services sector.

“In fact, from numerous evaluations conducted on onshore financial centres, significant deficiencies in their anti-money laundering regimes have been found without any punitive measures being taken.

It is also documented that the most egregious cases of money laundering and terrorist financing have taken place in onshore financial centres of OECD member countries.

“Therefore, the protectionist nature of the punitive measures taken against international financial centres such as The Bahamas is compounded by the fact that most of the countries subjected to punitive measures are nonmembers of the OECD, despite The Bahamas in particular having been responsive in addressing these threats against our sovereignty for years on end.”

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that AnAskAciA MoreAu of #62 Sunset Sub Division, Freeport, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, for Registration/Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th October, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 1 NOVEMBER 2018

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,005.38 | CHG 2.61 | %CHG 0.13 | YTD -58.19 | YTD% -2.82 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.50 4.46 1.22 0.30 3.92 9.26 6.60 4.97 12.50 2.74 1.78 8.21 6.30 13.20 6.90 4.50 13.50

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 7.50 3.32 0.90 0.16 2.25 8.60 6.09 3.54 9.00 2.30 1.50 7.25 6.00 10.06 5.67 3.25 12.50

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 ##########

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 4.45 17.43 9.09 4.46 1.01 0.25 2.30 9.25 6.16 3.98 12.42 2.46 1.78 7.55 6.30 13.00 6.60 3.63 13.01

CLOSE 4.45 17.43 9.09 4.46 1.01 0.30 2.30 9.25 6.15 4.00 12.42 2.52 1.78 7.48 6.30 13.00 6.60 3.63 13.01

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.00 -0.01 0.02 0.00 0.06 0.00 -0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME 1,000 115 100 1,000 1,100 1,000 600 913 3,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.214 0.932 -0.306 0.317 0.059 0.000 -0.996 0.700 0.441 0.154 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.670 0.701 0.719 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.100 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.060 0.084 0.280 0.500 0.150 0.130 0.590

P/E 20.8 18.7 N/M 14.1 N/M N/M -2.3 13.2 13.9 26.0 19.8 24.7 8.5 N/M 9.4 18.5 9.2 13.1 20.6

YIELD 2.25% 6.48% 0.00% 5.16% 0.00% 3.33% 0.00% 7.68% 3.58% 3.00% 4.99% 2.38% 3.37% 1.12% 4.44% 3.85% 2.27% 3.58% 4.53%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 ############### 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.18 4.16 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.58 1.70 1.66 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.45 11.20

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.52 1.68 1.61 1.08 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.18 4.16 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 7.36 8.47 6.53 11.32 11.67 10.54 9.93 8.45 11.20

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.90% 4.07% 0.44% 4.38% 1.70% 2.35% 2.08% 3.47% 3.35% 5.94% 3.22% 4.22% -0.38% 3.34% 2.39% 4.01% -0.38% 0.53% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.61% 0.75% 1.13% N/A 2.95% N/A

NAV Date 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 28-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

BERKSHIRE Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett smiles during an interview in Omaha, Neb. Berkshire Hathaway Inc reported earnings on Saturday.

Photo: Nati Harnik/AP

BUFFETT’S FIRM QUADRUPLES 3Q PROFIT ON INVESTMENT GAINS OMAHA, Nebraska Associated Press WARREN Buffett’s company more than quadrupled its third-quarter profits because of a huge paper gain in the value of its investments, although its insurance and railroad businesses also improved.

Notably, Buffett’s company bought back nearly $1bn in stock during the quarter — the first time that’s happened in years — a possible sign that the world’s most famous investor has been unable to find attractive investments to purchase.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Saturday that it earned $18.54bn, or $7.52 per Class B share. That’s up from last year’s $2.47bn, or $1.65 per B share, when insurance losses from several hurricanes hurt results.

Buffett has long said Berkshire’s operating earnings offer a better view of quarterly performance because they exclude investments and

derivatives, which can vary widely.

By that measure, Berkshire reported operating earnings of $6.88bn, or about $2.79 per Class B share. That’s up from $3.44bn, or about $1.40 per B share.

The Omaha-based company’s revenue grew to $63.45bn in the quarter, which was up from $59.5bn last year. Berkshire Hathaway officials do not typically comment on the company’s quarterly earnings.

“Overall, it’s a very strong report,” said Andy Kilpatrick, a retired stockbroker and author who wrote “Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett.”

Berkshire’s insurance unit, which includes Geico and several large reinsurance firms, reported a $441m underwriting profit in the quarter.

That’s much better than last year’s $1.4bn underwriting loss when hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused devastation and Mexico endured earthquakes.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 5, 2018, PAGE 7

UK SAYS REPORTS OF IMMINENT BREXIT DEAL ARE ‘SPECULATION’ LONDON Associated Press PRIME Minister Theresa May’s office yesterday dismissed as speculation reports that Britain and the European Union were close to striking a divorce deal after reaching a compromise on the intractable issue of the Irish border.

Downing Street said “negotiations are ongoing” and that a Sunday Times report claiming a proposed agreement had been reached on future customs arrangements at the Ireland-Northern Ireland border was “speculation”.

However, UK and EU officials have said in recent days that a deal is getting closer and could be sealed this month.

May’s deputy, David Lidington, said on Friday that negotiators were “very close” to an agreement.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said “I think it is possible to get a deal in November.”

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but London and Brussels have not reached an agreement on their divorce terms and a smooth transition to a new relationship. The stalemate has heightened fears that the UK might leave without a deal in place, leading to chaos at ports and economic turmoil.

An October EU summit that had been billed as the

LEAVE campaigner and businessman Arron Banks, centre, speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, after appearing on the Andrew Marr show, in London yesterday.

Britain’s National Crime Agency is investigating a main financial backer of the campaign to get Britain out of the European Union over suspected illegal funding during the country’s EU membership referendum, authorities said on Thursday. deadline for a breakthrough ended with the talks still deadlocked.

The key obstacle is the Irish border, which will be the UK’s only land frontier with the EU after Brexit.

Britain and the EU agree there must be no customs posts or other barriers that could disrupt businesses and residents on either side or undermine Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace process.

But the two sides have not agreed on how to do that. Britain rejected the EU’s proposal — to keep Northern Ireland in a customs union with the bloc — because it would impose new customs and regulatory checks between Northern

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, LEON ARDIS RICHARDS of New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to GARNET LEON ROLLE III. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that NAJAE O. HENRY, of Johnson Road, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of November, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Povidence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (QARA HANJEER) LIMITED ________________________________________________ Creditors having debts or claims against the abovenamed Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 29th day of November, A.D., 2018. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Dated the 5th day of November, A.D., 2018.

R.W. Rice Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (EAST ARBAT) LIMITED _____________________________________ N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (EAST ARBAT) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 1st day of November 2018 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is R.W. Rice, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 5th day of November, 2018 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

Ireland and the rest of the UK. According to the Sunday Times, a proposed solution would keep all the UK in a customs union — but with an exit clause to mollify pro-Brexit British lawmakers who worry the UK will be bound to the EU forever.

May faces a battle to

get a deal approved by her Cabinet — which is split between supporters of a clean break with the EU and those who want to keep close economic ties to the bloc — and past an equally divided Parliament.

May has already lost two top ministers, Boris Johnson and David Davis, over her Brexit blueprint. Others could follow in a bid to make her change course.

And pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers have openly mulled attempting to oust May with a no-confidence vote and a party leadership contest.

So far, the prime minister has stood her ground and her opponents have blinked.

With the clock ticking, opponents of Brexit are stepping up efforts to secure a new referendum on whether to accept any deal agreed between Britain and the bloc.

Britain voted in 2016 to leave the EU, but some argue the public should get a second chance to decide once the shape of the UK’s

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that DIEUPSON NORE of Fire Trail Rd., New Providence The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, for Registration/Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th November, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

NOTICE EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (EAST ARBAT) LIMITED ________________________________________________ Creditors having debts or claims against the abovenamed Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 29th day of November, A.D., 2018. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Dated the 5th day of November, A.D., 2018.

R.W. Rice Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

future relations with the bloc is clear.

More than 70 British business leaders signed a letter published Sunday urging a second vote, arguing that the conditions proposed by the government for associating with the EU after Brexit are “not nearly as good as the current deal we have inside the EU”.

Signatories included James Daunt, chief executive of the Waterstones book store chain, former Sainsbury’s supermarket CEO Justin King and Martha Lane-Fox, founder of Lastminute.com.

Meanwhile, one of the main funders of the successful pro-Brexit side in the 2016 referendum is facing a criminal investigation.

The National Crime Agency is investigating

insurance tycoon Arron Banks after electoral officials alleged that eight million pounds ($10.4m) he funneled to a pro-Brexit group might have come from outside the UK, in violation of election laws.

A British parliamentary committee is also investigating Banks’ role in the referendum and his meetings with Russian officials.

Banks denied wrongdoing yesterday, accusing anti-Brexit politicians and journalists of pursuing a “witch-hunt” against him.

“The money came from a UK-registered company ... generated from businesses in the UK,” Banks told the BBC. “There was no Russian money and no interference of any type,” he said.

NOTICE PARADISE FOUND HOLDINGS LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation) Registration No. 55534C Notice is hereby given, in accordance with Section 218(1)(e) of the Companies (Winding Up) Amendment Act 2012, that the abovenamed Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 30th day of October, 2018. The Liquidator is William L. Price c/o Callenders & Co., One Millars Court, Nassau, Bahamas.

WILLIAM L. PRICE (Liquidator)

N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (QARA HANJEER) LIMITED _____________________________________ N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL IRAQI KURDISTAN (QARA HANJEER) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 1st day of November 2018 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is R.W. Rice, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 5th day of November, 2018 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company