In Antigua last week, the Money-Laundering (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill 2001 was passed by the Senate and is now ready to go before the Governor-General, Sir James Carlisle, for his assent.
Senator Bernard Walker, leader of government business in the Senate, welcomed the law which he said 'seeks to bring into conformity money-laundering legislation, and certainly we want to make Antigua & Barbuda a model jurisdiction.'
The amended law aims to levy a 3 per cent tax on gross income and gross handle of businesses regarded as financial institutions such as casinos with a physical presence, Internet gaming operations, sports books and virtual casinos. It also contains provisions dealing with freezing the ownership of property that has been disguised by employing complex corporate or trust structures, or has been passed off as belonging to a third party. Furthermore, the law will allow Antigua's prosecution authorities in the country easier access to statements and official documents from other countries during their investigations.
Antigua & Barbuda is making significant progress in the fight against money-laundering. In November last year UK Economic Secretary, Melanie Johnson, said: 'The UK recognises the efforts that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has made since April 1999 to strengthen the system of supervision and control, with a particular view to strengthening anti-money laundering systems.'
However, the UK continued to uphold an advisory against Antigua & Barbuda because it wasn't convinced that the government had regulated the offshore gaming sector sufficiently. Ms Johnson stated at the time: 'Although there are controls on those who wish to run these businesses ... it became clear that in some cases it would be possible to use the gaming industry for the purposes of laundering through players' accounts held with the gaming company.' However, as this latest legislation is expected to tackle the issue, the Antiguan government is no doubt hopeful that it can now persuade the UK government to lift its advisory.
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