HAS THE UNITED STATES FINALLY TAKEN OFF THE GLOVES ON CORRUPT CARIBBEAN OFFICIALS ENGAGED IN MONEY LAUNDERING IN AMERICAN BANKS?

The conviction and sentencing of former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie, which is only the second time in the last forty years that a sitting senior Caribbean government official has been convicted in an America courtroom, may be a sign that there has been a major change in how the United States intends to deal with criminal corruption from a region that directly impacts our financial institutions. If you are a keen student of modern history, you know that since the invasion of Grenada, American foreign policy has gone out of its way to ignore the rampant corruption that pervades senior leadership at most of the East Caribbean republics which are formerly British overseas territories.

When many of those senior officials deposit the proceeds of their crimes, which is a predicate act under our money laundering statutes, into correspondent accounts in New York and Miami, you do not see Federal indictments reach out to those bad actors, most likely so as not to appear overbearing, as the US is regarded there as the Colossus of the North, and perhaps threaten sensitive local feelings of sovereignty. Meanwhile, American banks, whose AML obligations have if anything increased since 9/11, accept the proceeds of crime, while the US Government warns them about De-Risking the same indigenous banks that sent the tained dollars. Our banks are now caught between facilitating money laundering and obeying American policies about giving foreign banks access to the American financial structure.

Whether we will see a change in our law enforcement policies in 2024 remains an open question. I challenge the Department of Justice to start strictly enforcing our money laundering laws, when it comes to senior Caribbean politicians who place their illicit wealth in American banks, and then invest it in income-producing real estate, so that they can enjoy an affluent lifestyle when they leave office. Indicting corrupt Caribbean officials will serve to introduce needed reform in those island republics, protect our banks from regulatory fines and civil penalties, or worse, and finally dispense justice where it is sorely needed.