Shadow Finance Minister and Free National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said The Central Bank of The Bahamas' (CBOB) attempt to get ahead of any exposure from the so called "Panama Papers" leak is too late because The Bahamas has already been exposed by association and will get a "black eye" from the prevailing negative exposure. The shadow minister also questioned whether the current minister of financial services is best suited for the role.
Last week the regulator issued a notice to all of its registered banks requesting them to confirm whether they had "material concerns" about the 11.5 million documents leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm specializing in offshore financial services with a branch in The Bahamas.
Close to 16,000 of the companies that appear in the 2.6 terabytes of leaked data were incorporated in The Bahamas. Said Turnquest, "It once again puts [The Bahamas] and all international finance centers (IFCs) in a bad light."
While he added that that is not an indictment, Turnquest said, "With all of the external investigations going on as a result of this incident, no doubt the jurisdiction will get a black eye from this."
Besides initiatives taken by the regulator, Turnquest said the government has also been making some efforts.
Earlier this month, Minister of Financial Services Hope Strachan addressed the Panama Papers issue in a press conference where she insisted that The Bahamas continues to be a compliant jurisdiction, operating under international regulatory
standards, and that the government would "continue to monitor developments" in the matter.
But, Turnquest told Guardian Business much of the government's efforts were crisis management, after the incident occurred. He added, "I am not totally convinced the present minister of financial services is best suited for this role."
"It is important for the regulators to be as forward as possible in putting The Bahamas' case for why we are to be viewed as cooperative and a blue chip financial services destination," said Turnquest.
K. Quincy Parker
Guardian Business Editor
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
