Story Updated: Jan 15, 2011 at 10:47 PM ECT

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_Foreign_banks_blanking_T_T_-113827054.html

DIEGO Martin North East MP Colm Imbert says because Government was too busy with public relations and "partying" to establish the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and banking regulations, a number of foreign financial institutions are refusing to open accounts and do business with people and corporations registered in Trinidad and Tobago.

Imbert, speaking on Friday night on The Finance (Supplementary and Variation of Appropriation) Bill 2011 in the House of Representatives, noted that he has been threatened with the Privileges Committee for stating T&T was on a blacklist by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The FAFT is a Paris-based inter-governmental body "whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing". 

Imbert also noted that Finance Minister Winston Dookeran has said T&T had been on the FATF list since 2005, while Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said this was so since February 2010, blaming the People's National Movement for failure to comply with the standards of the international financial community.

However, Imbert maintained that both Dookeran and Ramlogan were inaccurate and T&T had not been on the FATF blacklist between 2000 and 2008.

Challenged by Dookeran as to the source of his information, Imbert said it had been "culled" from a number of sources, including the FATF official website.

He recalled that in February 2010, FATF told the then PNM Government they were required to establish a FIU and to implement mechanisms within the banking sector to track money laundering and terrorist financing before the end of that year.

He said, however, the new Government was too concerned with public relations, witch-hunting, partying, travelling and singing karaoke to do its work.

Imbert said Government fired David West as acting FIU head, did nothing regarding bank compliance mechanisms and then missed compliance deadlines in June and October 2010.

The FATF then published a list of non-compliant countries, identifying 31 which had "strategic deficiencies" in terms of tracking and monitoring money laundering, he said, adding: "And we have the dubious pleasure of being on that list."

Imbert said as a consequence of this effective blacklisting, foreign companies will be unable to incorporate local subsidiaries and companies registered in T&T, or establish businesses in this country with local banking accounts. He said investors would be unable to establish accounts in local banks to trade with foreign banks.

Imbert reported that, as "an experiment", he attempted to open an account as a Trinidad and Tobago resident with US online brokers Options Express, rated by financial magazines Barron's and Forbes as among the best. He reported the brokers wrote back, saying "due to regulatory concerns and risk assessments we are unable to carry accounts in Trinidad and Tobago".

He said every single financial institution he e-mailed gave him the same reply.

St Joseph MP Herbert Volney suggested that this situation applied only to Imbert, to which Imbert retorted that it was applicable to every resident of T&T.

"You can continue to fool yourself, but you not fooling anybody on this side," he said.

Imbert said he has spoken with Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and they have agreed the Opposition is willing to meet with the Government, at any time, to resolve the matter.