Black Immigrant Daily News

Money launderers have been targeting the Virgin Islands hospitality industry, the Financial Investigation Agency warned recently.

The agency’s Financial Investigation Unit issued a press release last month advising hotels, resorts and guesthouses to be on the lookout for scammers making false reservations under the names of reputable individuals and businesses.

“They often pay for the reservation using a cashier’s cheque to the bank account of the hotel or guesthouse and then cancel and make a request for a refund via email,” the release stated.

Once the cheque is cut, the money launderer then takes it to a bank.

The goal of the scam, the agency ex- plained, is to conceal funds gained from illegal activity — for example, drug or human trafficking — and introduce it into the banking system, which otherwise wouldn’t accept the deposit.

“The hotel or guesthouse would facilitate the refund by cheque, so the ill-gotten gains would then be introduced into a financial institution from an apparently legitimate source,” the agency stated.

It added that any amount the hotel keeps as a cancellation fee is written off by the money launderer as the cost of doing business.

‘Money muling’

The scheme is a variation of the common “money muling” scheme that the FIA has previously warned about, in which the launderer gives money to an individual to deposit in a bank account or in exchange for purchasing gift cards and other items in return for a small “commission” for making the transaction.

Typically, the perpetrator asks for full bank details and then asks the victim to transfer a percentage of the money to another account and to keep the rest.

“Alternatively, there have also been instances of persons being asked to buy gift cards, such as iTunes vouchers, in return for keeping a percentage of the monies they were sent,” the FIA wrote in a warning issued in May. “These are all instances the general public should be wary of.”

Sometimes these scams come under the guise of legitimate employment ads and opportunities, the agency noted. However, in most cases, the money transferred into the victim’s account was obtained illegally.

“Your actions and contribution in the scheme are enabling criminals to legitimise the monies. Simply put, you are helping criminals move their funds around,” the FIA warned. “This is a criminal of- fence under the laws of the Virgin Islands, even if you did not know where the monies came from. Apart from criminal prosecution, you also run the risk of being blacklisted by the banks.”

Hard to spot

According to the agency, the scams can be hard to spot, because the perpetrators appear at first to be legitimate customers.

“They can be highly sophisticated and perpetrated by familiar persons or businesses,” the May release stated. “The FIU is therefore reminding banks and hoteliers of their legal obligation to report any suspicious activity under penalty of law.”

The agency advised businesses that they can report money laundering schemes or any other suspicious activity by completing a suspicious activity report form at https://tinyurl.com/SAR-Form.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News

Ancel Roget. – Photo by Lincoln Holder

JOINT Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president Ancel Roget has said legal action will be taken against the Prime Minister within the next two days.

Roget is also Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) president general.

He spoke on Monday in response to comments Dr Rowley made in a Facebook post earlier in the day.

Rowley said, “So they have made their move. Dump truckloads of sand and debris on both sides of the highway and block traffic!

“What a wonderful idea of leadership from Roget and the followers including the UNC!

“The marauding gangs of metal thieves threatened to, but did not complete the job of shutting down the country, so the leaders are helping them to get that done.”

At an emergency virtual news conference at the OWTU’s Paramount Building heaquarters in San Fernando, Roget slammed Rowley’s comments as slanderous (sic), libellous and defamatory against both the union and himself and injurious to his character.

“I want to categorically, unequivocally, emphatically deny any prior knowledge of or any knowledge of or involvement in this activity.”

Roget declared that neither he nor the union had anything to do with the blocking of the Solomon Hochoy Highway “by whosoever.”

This statement made on Dr Rowley’s Facebook page, he said, “is currently in the hands of our attorneys.”

Roget said within the “next 24-48 hours action is going to be taken, legal action is going to commence as a result of this very defamatory statement.”

He reiterated that Rowley’s statement placed him “at the centre of an activity that I have absolutely no knowledge of, prior or otherwise.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Dear Editor,

I think of the reality that “Globally, 1.6 billion people worldwide struggle with inadequate housing conditions, with about 15 million being forcefully evicted every year,” That is according to the UN-Habitat, which has noted an alarming rise in homelessness in the last 10 years. Young people, it is shown, are the age group with the highest risk of becoming homeless, so what a relief it is to learn that in beloved Guyana, “some 3000 more house lots will be distributed to residents on the East Coast of Demerara by the end of this year.”

The news, then, from Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal is not something that is merely ad hoc. In fact, the announcement came during a recent outreach in which 250 house lots were distributed to residents from Nooten Zuil to Unity, on the East Coast of Demerara.

Explaining the national goal and vision of the Government, the Minister noted, “We have not had any recent outreach in terms of Ministry of Housing on this part of region on the East Coast of Demerara, so the cluster that we are addressing is between Unity and Nooten Zuil.”

And in terms of ‘sticking to promises,’ Croal detailed that “…since taking office in August 2020, (Government) have been able to allocate 7900 house lots to Region 4. (And) Of that, just under 4000 house lots were distributed to people living on the East Coast.” So, “By the end of this year, we want to allocate about another 3000-plus for the East Coast of Demerara.”

In fact, when the PPP/C assumed office in August two years ago, the reminder was, “We promised 50,000 house lots, which we have been ensuring that we make available to the citizens, but we have been adamant that our primary focus is homeownership; ensuring that Guyanese move from being renters to becoming homeowners.”

I think it is a ‘given’ that the Government would achieve its manifesto promise of distributing 50,000 house lots by the end of 2025.

Let me add that the right to adequate housing is a human right, recognised in international human rights law as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Also, we must understand that “Adequate housing”, as defined under international law, is “the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity.”

This right is so much more than simply four walls and a roof over a head. In this vein, Guyanese are now enjoying a level of security and dignity yet again, as this was missing between 2015-2020. Today, in the country, we see that there is the unfolding of so many rights, as “Human rights are indivisible and interdependent, so the right to adequate housing cannot be separated from the other rights, such as sanitation, water, education, and healthcare.”

I recall that in June of this year, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves, emphasised that the Government’s housing drive is synonymous with the creation of employment. This was a commitment that was also made to Guyanese back in August 2020. He rightfully stated at that time, “This will not only help the landowners; it will, at the same time, provide employment for our citizens across the country,” as the CH&PA will always be inviting individuals, groups, and companies to express their interest in providing various skills and services for the housing initiative.

Plaudits, then, to the leaders of the land. Guyanese today are achieving equity, dignity and security in an unprecedented way.

Yours truly,H Singh

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says the Government has done remarkable work in the area of Post-Secondary and Tertiary Education over the years.

Speaking on Radio this morning, the Prime Minister who now has Ministerial responsibility for Post-Secondary Education, said the public can look forward to further advances in this area.

He said a meeting will be held this week with the Management of the SVG Community College.

https://www.nbcsvg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/EDUCATION-ADVANCES.mp3

Prime Minister Gonsalves is urging persons to take advantage of the opportunities in higher education.

https://www.nbcsvg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/FURTHER-ADVANCES.mp3

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