MULTIPLE NEW MONEY LAUNDERING CASES FILED AGAINST SAINT KITTS & NEVIS LAWYERS AND FORMER POLICE OFFICIAL

Citizens of the Federation of Saint Christopher & Nevis, more commonly known as SAINT KITTS, are voicing serious concerns regarding the recent number of arrests of well-known lawyers and police officers on money laundering charges, which has occurred in addition to what is now considered to be a violent crime wave plaguing the country of late, and the unresolved major corruption scandal currently involving its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) economic passport sales program. Is Saint Kitts & Nevis out of control?

Many older Kittitians are saying that the present situation reminds them of earlier chaotic periods in the country's history, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, when a number of prominent lawyers, including Ambassador WILLIAM (Billy) HERBERT, JR., were engaged in laundering the proceeds of crime for American narcotics traffickers and Russian organized crime figures. To the best of our knowledge, none of those lawyer-laundrymen were ever convicted for their criminal conduct, and some are still practising law today. There is a rumour that a tell-all biography of Herbert, written by an eyewitness to that turbulent period, is close to completion.

Many people are especially troubled by the arrest, on multiple charges which include money laundering, of prominent attorney VAUGHAN HENDERSON, described in local media as the "hand-picked Electoral Commission appointee of Prime Minister Drew," and a former Assistant Police Commissioner. It is too early to determine what effect, if any, these new arrests will have on the precious and essential correspondent banking relationships that National Bank has in the United States, given certain details that we are not free to discuss in an open forum, but which may have adverse consequences to the Saint Kitts economy.

We leave our readers with Premier Mark Brantley's Open Letter describing his deep concerns about the current state of affairs among the Members of the Saint Kitts-Nevis Bar, as he questions whether they have lost their moral compass; words of wisdom, perhaps?