PRESS RELEASES

Tuesday July 6, 1999.

To Whom It May Concern

It has come to the attention of the International Finance Sector Authority that Fullerton Financial Corporation is purporting to be registered in Antigua and Barbuda.

Be warned that this corporation is not registered in the jurisdiction and has been instructed to desist from claiming Antigua and Barbuda as its place of registration.

Be guided accordingly.

Tuesday July 6, 1999.

To Whom It May Concern

It has come to the attention of the International Finance Sector Authority that Osmi Bank claims to be registered and licensed in Antigua and Barbuda. Be warned that Osmi Bank is not and never has been licensed and registered in Antigua and Barbuda.

Be guided accordingly.

Thursday January 28, 1999.

Fellow Citizens

During the course of this morning, an intense fire was started at the Prison by a small group of inmates.

The Government's first concern was to ensure that the lives of the inmates were not endangered and that no threat could be posed to the public at large.

Immediate action was taken to remove all the inmates from the Prison and they were held in secure circumstances at the nearby Fire Station by forces drawn from the Police and Defence Force. Meantime, the fire services aided by the army worked as quickly as they could to bring the fire under control.

Seventeen persons were taken to the Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. They have all been discharged. Of the seventeen persons, one was a prison officer, and two were female prisoners.

I emphasize that there were no serious injuries and the entire prison population of 197 prisoners are accounted for in secure conditions.

Even though the fire was extinguished in rapid time, the prison is too badly burnt, except for one wing, to continue to house all the inmates. Therefore, arrangements have been made to hold the hardened criminals in the Northern wing of the Prison which is both secure and habitable. A factory shell at Coolidge has been identified to house others, and more will be kept at the former Army Headquarters at Camp Lightfoot. The more dangerous prisoners will be held at the main Police Station.

I stress that the factory shell, Camp Lightfoot and the Northern wing of the Prison will be maintained in secure conditions by the Prison officers and the army.

Every measure will also be taken to ensure that the temporary conditions in which the prisoners are kept are fit and proper.

You are aware that last year it was discovered that conditions in the prison were found to be extremely lax. After a riot between prisoners, the Police had to be called in and a quantity of weapons was discovered slashed in some prison cells and in other parts of the prison. Further, it was discovered that some inmates were leaving the Prison at night and returning before daylight having committed crimes during the night.

These lax conditions, and obvious collusion between prisoners and some prison officers, placed you, the public, at risk. In order to make the prison more secure and to give the public the safety to which they are entitled, a professional group was brought in from Trinidad to operate the prison. This system has worked well. The prison if far more secure and the incidents of prisoners armed in prison or leaving at night to commit crimes against the public have been brought to an end.

Naturally, the hardened inmates, who were the beneficiaries of the previous lax system, have resented the new conditions which prohibit them from being armed, and from continuing to prey on the public with the perfect excuse that they are in prison.

This morning, a few of the inmates started an intense fire at the prison because, yesterday, twenty-five officers were temporarily brought in to run a surprise operation to check whether knives and drugs were being smuggled into the prison by visitors. The spot check was based upon reliable information received by the authorities.

It is important that the public should understand that the surprise check at the prison was being conducted for the benefit of public safety. For, armed prisoners can start riots and seek to escape posing a threat to the community at large.

While there are those who may wish to turn this morning's incident to narrow political purpose, I call on responsible citizens to recognize that it is the public safety that must be everyone's concern.

Hon. Radford Hill
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

January 28, 1999

Tuesday October 26, 1998.

To Whom It May Concern

The Bank has been instructed to remove this fallacious statement from its website and to desist from claiming the jurisdiction of Antigua & Barbuda as its place of registration.

Also Visit their Other website

And also here. (server might be down).

M. Althea Crick
Director

October 26, 1998

Tuesday June 16, 1998.

This morning the Court of appeal dismissed an application by Opposition Leader, Baldwin Spencer, and the UPP to appeal to the Privy Council over the Asian Village project. This is the third defeat that the UPP has suffered at the hands of the Court.

The UPP applied to the Court for permission to appeal against a decision by the Court in which they upheld an earlier judgement by Justice Adrian Saunders. In his judgement, Justice Saunders had struck-out opposition writs which sought to declare the Asian Village agreement unconstitutional.

In April this year, the three senior Judges of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by Spencer and the UPP. Their judgement stated that "there is no doubt that the motivation for the litigation was political". They also found that allegations of breaches of the constitution were "facetious".

This morning, delivering their conclusions on the application by Spencer and the UPP to appeal to the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal decided that the applicants `did not disclose any genuine disputable issue in respect of the interpretation of any of the provision of the Antigua and Barbuda Constitution, and, further, did not disclose any matter or question concerning an issue of great general or public importance".

The Court also ordered Spencer to pay the costs of the Government which was compelled to respond to his application.

This is the third time that the Courts have found against Baldwin Spencer and the UPP in their attempts to derail the Asian Village project which stands to bring hundreds of jobs to Antiguans and millions in income to the Treasury and the private sector.

Commenting on the latest defeat suffered by the UPP, Prime Minister Lester Bird repeated remarks he made in April this years at a ground-breaking ceremony for the Asian Village project. Mr. Bird said, "There are benefits in this project that should be shared equally and justly by our nation. The Opposition should now lay down their weapons of mischief and work with the Government to get the maximum benefits for all the people of Antigua and Barbuda".

Ministry of Information
June 16, 1998

Monday May 18th, 1998.

The United States Customs Service announced last week the successful completion of OPERATION RISKY BUSINESS, a three and a half year investigation into an intricate scheme by twelve people in the United States who defrauded investors around the world of an estimated US$60 million, most of which remains missing.

The indictment charges that the twelve not only violated U.S. fraud laws, but also laundered some of their illegal gains by transferring the money from the United States, through Switzerland, to the Caribbean American Bank ("CAB") in St. Johns, Antigua. The money was then transferred back to the United States from the CAB and the American International Bank ("AIB"), also located in St. Johns. Fortunately, the likelihood of recovering at least some of the money has been greatly enhanced by independent actions of the Government of Antigua.

While the U.S. investigation was proceeding, and completely unaware of it or its Antiguan connection, the International Business Corporations Department, commonly known as the IBC, which is responsible for overseeing offshore banks, froze the accounts of the CAB to protect its depositors and placed it under the supervision of the international accounting firm of Price Waterhouse. After an intensive review of bank operations by Price Waterhouse, on September 5, 1997 the high court ordered the bank dissolved. During the intervening months, one of the indicted co-conspirators, made repeated efforts to have the monies released, but the Government of Antigua rebuffed these attempts at all levels.

During this same time period, the IBC, began conducting background investigations into the ownership and management of all offshore banks, including AIB.

The IBC has contacted the U.S. Customs Service and offered to join in its effort to prosecute those who may have violated U.S. or Antiguan laws, trace the monies which may have passed through Antiguan banks, and return any funds recovered to their rightful owners. This effort should be greatly facilitated by the fact that Patrick T. O'Brien, the former Special Agent in Charge of Customs in Miami, Florida, and an expert in money laundering investigations, has been working as an advisor to the IBC in Antigua for the past several months assisting in the Government's extensive efforts to impose tighter controls on the offshore financial sector and drive out those engaged in illegal activities, while preserving the industry's traditional principle of confidentiality.

Although the Government of Antigua stands steadfastly behind the offshore financial sector, and the laws which protects the confidentiality of the banks and it's depositors, it will not permit those who violate Antigua law escape the consequences of their crimes by hiding behind the veil of bank secrecy.

Wrenford D. Ferrance
Director
May 12, 1998

Tuesday September 2nd, 1997.

Tim Hector has been forbidden from repeating or in any way promoting the allegations made in two recent issues of the Outlet Newspaper against Prime Minister Lester Bird.

High Court Judge, the Honourable Justice Kenneth Benjamin today ordered that Leonard Tim Hector and the Outlet Publishers whether by themselves, their servants, agents or whomsoever otherwise be restrained from printing publishing or otherwise disseminating the contents or any part thereof or any similar statements as set out in the article appearing on pages 1 & 3 in the Outlet newspaper of Tuesday 26th August, 1997 Headed "Did the Lester Bird Regime get US $ 1 Million from the Cali Drug Cartel?" and the article on pages 1 & 3 in the said newspaper of Friday 29th August, 1997, Headed "Does Prime Minister Lester Bird have $50 Million US?"

The order follows the exparte application filed for Prime Minister Bird who has strenuously denied the allegations made in the Outlet newspaper.

Lawyers for Prime Minister Bird described the order as a shot in the arm for democracy in Antigua and Barbuda saying it recognised that while journalists have a freedom of expression, such right must be exercised with accuracy and responsibility.

Ministry of Information
St. John's
Antigua.

AntiguaNet and the AntiguaNet Logo Copyright © Charisma 1997-2002. Antigua, West Indies. Other information copyrighted respective individuals, companies, organizations, or government. See disclaimer. Charisma telephone: (268) 463-8967; Fax: (268) 463-8967.