Black Immigrant Daily News

This month, the Cayman Islands’ financial services industry received some good news about Cayman-based investment funds whose assets were frozen under regulation 64 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the “Russia Regulations”) as extended to the Cayman Islands (with modifications) (the “Modified Regulations”) by the Russia (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2020.

This news, which came in the form of a licence issued by the Governor of the Cayman Islands on October 4, 2022 (the “Licence”), allows certain investors to redeem or withdraw their interests from these investment funds.

In addition, these investment funds may pay out disbursements to cover basic needs, including fees of service providers.

Limits on redemption or withdrawals

To facilitate the wishes of investors who wish to exit, the Licence states that the investment funds (or a person who is empowered to direct the business of the investment fund, or act on its behalf) may redeem, withdraw or otherwise deal with a share, trust unit, partnership interest or other right that carries an entitlement to participate in the profits or gains of the investment fund.

However, such redemptions or withdrawals or dealings cannot be made in respect of a person who is designated from time to time by the Secretary of State under the Russia Regulations (“Designated Person”) or in circumstances where it can be shown that there is control (directly or indirectly) by a Designated Person.

Further, no funds or economic resources shall be made available directly or indirectly to, or for the benefit of, a Designated Person or any person (including any individual, body of persons corporate or unincorporate, any organisation and any association or combination of persons) which is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by a Designated Person.

With respect to all of the foregoing, the relevant redemption, withdrawal or other dealing must be in accordance with the Licence and the investment fund’s constitutional and contractual documents.

Paying disbursements

In addition to these permitted redemptions or withdrawals, the Licence states that investment funds may pay the following expenses:

insurance premiums, audit fees, accounting fees, regulatory fees, corporate services and registered office fees, director fees, professional service provider fees (including legal fees) and any other reasonable routine expensesreasonable fees or reasonable service charges arising from the routine holding and maintenance of the investment fund’s frozen funds or economic resources

In connection with the foregoing, the investment fund or the fund manager must keep accurate, complete and readable records, on paper or electronically, of any activity purporting to have been permitted under the Licence for a minimum of six (6) years.

Notification Requirements

In relation to the redemption and fee payment permissions, the investment fund or the investment fund’s manager (defined as a person who is empowered to direct the business of the investment fund, or act on its behalf) must do the following:

report to the Governor (which may be provided by email to GovernorsOffice.CaymantBfcdo.oov.uk) as soon as practicable the first time this Licence is relied upon, and, subsequently, must report to the Governor on the 16th of every month setting out any activities carried out in the preceding month where the investment fund is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”), the investment fund or the fund manager must notify CIMA of its use of the Licence within three business days of such use

It should be noted, however, that any notification provided above does not constitute verification by the Governor that the activity purporting to be permitted under the Licence is permitted.

Consequences for breach

According to the Licence, failure to comply with any conditions attaching to the Licence may lead to prosecution under the Modified Regulations.

In addition, the permissions granted under the Licence do not authorize any act which the person carrying out the act knows, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting, will result in funds or economic resources, being dealt with or made available in breach of the Modified Regulations.

Licence expiration date and possible Licence amendments

Those having the benefit of the Licence should also be aware that, while the Licence takes effect from October 4, 2022, it expires on April 4, 2023 (the Licence, once issued, is also not transferable to any other party).

In addition, stakeholders should note that the Governor may vary, revoke or suspend the Licence at any time, which may prove to be beneficial to the financial services industry if the Governor decides to vary the Licence to allow investment funds to take certain actions in relation to sanctioned investors.

Such actions, if deemed prudent by the Governor, could include amendments to the wording of the Licence to include “permitted dealing,” which would allow the following (subject to the terms of the entity’s limited partnership agreement, trust deed, articles of association or other governing document):

permitting the relevant investment fund to effect a compulsory redemption of shares, interests or units held in the names of (or controlled by) sanctioned investors and placing those investors in a liquidating trust or other special purpose vehicle whose assets and activities would be frozen (regarding this, no persons connected to sanctioned investors or other sanctioned persons should be appointed as directors or trustees or general partners of the new vehicle)permitting directors or trustees or general partners (not connected to sanctioned investors or other sanctioned persons) to designate separate share classes, units or partnership interests. In this scenario, sanctioned investors would be redeemed out of existing share classes and placed in newly designated classes or side pockets. All dealings in these newly designated share classes and side pockets could then be prohibited (regarding this, the directors (or trustees or general partners) of the relevant investment fund may need to consider whether it is feasible to, or how to, attribute a portion of the assets, being frozen assets, to the side pockets)

These scenarios for future permitted dealing might make it easier for investment funds to continue rather than to simply collapse or experience permanent uncertainty just because of the existence of sanctioned investors.

(Note that none of the foregoing is legal advice and the Cayman Islands’ legal counsel for the relevant investment fund must be consulted in connection with the ability to deal with any share, interest or unit in the relevant Cayman fund subject to sanctions or otherwise.)

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

NEW YORK (AP) — More than three years after Manhattan prosecutors started investigating Donald Trump — after going to the Supreme Court twice to gain access to his tax records — the only criminal trial to arise from their efforts is about to begin.

No, the former president isn’t going on trial. His company is.

The Trump Organization, the holding company for Trump’s buildings, golf courses and other assets, is accused of helping some top executives avoid income taxes on compensation they got in addition to their salaries, like rent-free apartments and luxury cars.

Trump signed some of the checks at the center of the case but he is not charged with anything and is not expected to testify or attend the trial, which starts Monday with jury selection.

If convicted, the Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million — but that’s not the only potential fallout.

Trump’s ardent supporters aren’t likely to abandon him, no matter the outcome, but a guilty verdict could hamper his company’s ability to get loans and make deals. New York City, for one, could use the legal cloud as new justification for seeking to oust the company from running a city-owned golf course.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has said that his office’s investigation of Trump is “active and ongoing,” and that no final decision has been made on whether he could face criminal charges in the future.

Trump, a Republican, has decried the probe as a “political witch hunt.”

The Trump Organization has said it did nothing wrong and that it looks forward “to having our day in court.”

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan expects the criminal tax fraud trial, heavy on financial records and expert testimony, to take at least four weeks once a jury is seated. Given Trump’s fame as a businessman and polarizing politician, it could take a while to find jurors who feel they can judge the case impartially.

The star witness for the prosecution is expected to be Allen Weisselberg, one of Trump’s most trusted senior executives.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to taking in over $1.7 million worth of untaxed perks from the company, including school tuition for his grandchildren, a Manhattan apartment and Mercedes cars for him and his wife.

His testimony comes as part of a plea agreement that requires him to serve up to five months in New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, though he could be released after a little more than three with good behavior. The former Trump Organization chief financial officer must also pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest and complete five years of probation.

Weisselberg, 75, has intimate knowledge of the Trump Organization’s financial dealings from nearly five decades at the company, but he is not expected to implicate Trump or any members of the Trump family in his testimony.

n pleading guilty, Weisselberg pinned blame for the scheme on himself and other top Trump Organization executives, including senior vice president and controller, Jeffrey McConney.

McConney was granted limited immunity to testify last year before a grand jury and could also make an appearance on the witness stand at the trial. The company’s director of security, Matthew Calamari Jr., the son of chief operating officer Matthew Calamari Sr., also received immunity for grand jury testimony.

When the Trump Organization and Weisselberg were indicted in 2021, prosecutors called the tax scheme “sweeping and audacious” and said it was “orchestrated by the most senior executives.”

Besides Weisselberg, two other Trump Organization executives, who were not identified by name, also received substantial under-the-table compensation, including lodging and the payment of automobile leases, the indictment said.

“The purpose of the scheme was to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner that was ‘off the books,’” the indictment said.

The Trump Organization is the entity through which the former president manages his many ventures, including his real estate investments, his many marketing deals and his TV pursuits.

Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have been in charge of day-to-day operations since he became president. Because the criminal trial involves charges against the corporate entity, not any individuals, the Trumps won’t be held personally liable if a jury returns a guilty verdict.

The criminal case is one of two legal cases working their way through the New York courts that threaten to chip away at the gold-plated fa?ade of Trump’s empire.

Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of misleading banks and others for years about the value of his assets. The civil suit seeks $250 million and a permanent ban on Trump doing business in the state.

A court hearing is scheduled in that matter for Oct. 31 as James seeks an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s activities after she alleged the company was taking steps to dodge potential penalties, such as incorporating a new entity named Trump Organization II.

Those aren’t the only legal challenges Trump faces as he weighs a potential comeback campaign for president.

Last week, Trump gave sworn deposition testimony in a lawsuit brought by magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who says he raped her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room.

Meanwhile, the FBI is continuing to investigate Trump’s storage of sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

A special grand jury in Georgia is investigating whether Trump and others attempted to influence state election officials.

On Friday, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued a subpoena to Trump.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, Associated Press

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

News

A toddler was among four killed in a car in Diego Martin on Sunday morning. The car was sprayed with bullets by gunmen. Photo by Roger Jacob

A three-year-old boy was among four people murdered in an early-morning shooting in Diego Martin on Sunday.

Around 1.20 am, Four Roads CID and Western Division Task Force responded to reports of a car being riddled with bullets at Winnie Mohammed Road, Diego Martin. Police said four occupants of the vehicle were killed and two others taken to hospital for injuries.

The deceased were identified as three-year-old Nazim Owen of La Puerta, Diego Martin; Chelsea Julien, 27, of Bagatelle, Diego Martin; Akil Keron of La Puerta Diego Martin and Marcus “Markie” Noel also of La Puerta.

The murders prompted acting CoP McDonald Jacob to issue a statement on the matter.

Jacobs offered his deepest condolences to the victims’ family and friends.

He said he intends to offer timely justice and not just condolences and counselling from the police’s Victim and Witness Support Unit.

“Yes, the crime scene investigators, forensics personnel, homicide detectives, investigators are all out there, working assiduously to find and bring in the perpetrators. If there is CCTV footage we will use it, witnesses will be interviewed, thorough investigations are under way, and, once again, I am appealing to anyone who has information that can lead to the capture and arrest of these murderers, we need you to come forward,” he said.

He also condemned the “erroneous rhetoric” of not being able to trust the police.

On October 15, Jomol Modeste, 9, was killed in a drive-by shooting while playing with friends at the Africa Recreation Grounds, Chaguanas.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

STATEMENT ON ABUSE AND VIOLENCE BY UPP SUPPORTER IN ST MARY’S SOUTH

Violence is often a tool used by the weak, feeble and corrupt-minded. The record must be corrected due to a false narrative published by those who seek to gain political mileage from the very acts they tacitly incubate and foster among their supporters.

Yesterday, we at the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party’s (ABLP) St Mary’s South Branch hosted our usual weekend buzz activity, which serves as an event to meet, greet, and socialise with the Member of Parliament and branch members.

A positive event suddenly became sullied because of a prominent supporter of the United Progressive Party (UPP) who pull up to our event while they were passing with confrontation, abuse, and physical violence.

He approached our branch, verbally abused and threatened members and constituents present, particularly the women and even assaulted me as the Parliamentary Representative.

His hate and anger then turned to a female constituent some distance away.

In his rage and anger, he rushed over to the woman and became physically violent to the extreme of severely causing damage to her head and limbs.

Egregiously and most deplorable, the UPP supporter did this in front of her children and neighbours.

Members of the community took action to bring him under control until the police arrived.

He was arrested and is now in custody, and the constituent was taken to the hospital for treatment.

From the last update, she is doing reasonably well despite the physical and mental health injuries. I will continue to provide the support needed for a swift recovery.

I, therefore, call on the UPP’s candidate, Kelvin Simon and by extension, Harold Lovell and the UPP leadership to condemn and disassociate themselves from such violent behaviour by their supporters.

Moreover, I call on my constituents, along with citizens and residents across the country, to be mindful, watchful and on guard against those who directly and indirectly associate with and encourage those who preach and act with hate, abuse, and savagery.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP

NewsAmericasNow.com