ANTIGUA POWERBROKERS REQUEST TERMS TO PURCHASE SCOTIABANK BRANCH THERE, BUT THE BANK DECLINES DUE TO TRUST ISSUES

Reports from Antigua regarding the unsuccessful efforts by that country's leaders to acquire the local branch of Scotiabank are extremely disturbing, for they describe a corrupt scheme to buy the facility, with its  substantial deposits, on a basis which could lead to massive fraud and corruption, causing the eventual insolvency of the bank, and a default in payment to Scotiabank of the purchase price. 

Here is what we know so far; you are cautioned that not all the information has been confirmed, though the sources are well-established, with a long record of accuracy:

(1) Antigua's government leaders pleaded poverty to Scotiabank officials, alleging that local businessmen and indigenous bank owners did not have the purchase price; they reportedly asked for term payments, over several years, even though they had sufficient cash for a purchase.

(2) When an insider stated an intention to take the detail of terms, and the professed inability of the buyers to pay in full at this time, that person was threatened with criminal prosecution, an obvious political charge. Reports of millions of dollars, in the possession of senior government officials, and their political allies, obtained through corrupt and illegal acts, demonstrate that the buyers merely want access to the deposits, and do not intend to pay for the bank from their own pockets.

(2) Scotiabank officials declined any contract that involved terms, most likely because Antigua has a long and sordid history of deliberate bank failures, due to government loan repayment defaults, government breaches of financial and constitutional obligations, and a local judicial system that protects the government, at the expense of private sector creditors. There is a long list of failed Antiguan banks, and Scotiabank is taking that into consideration, among other factors.

(3) Payment for the bank on a long-term basis could lead to the new ownership simply borrowing the money for the payments from the bank they bought, and then intentionally failing to repay it when due, leading to the insolvency of yet another Antiguan bank. Bank fraud, on a massive scale, appears to be  the goal of the purchasers, who have not been specifically identified by the government.

It is expected that Scotiabank will simply refund all deposits to its Antigua clients, and close the facility, due to the aforementioned trust issues.