International banking standards require financial institutions to be particularly careful when dealing with persons in position of power who could have access to ill-gotten funds. These Politically Exposed Persons are public officials whose duties or powers put them in position for potential corruption.
As you might expect, Dr Keith Rowley is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) because of his MP and Cabinet Minister positions in Trinidad and Tobago. PEP designations also apply to the family (Sharon Rowley) and close associates (Emile Elias) of such an official.
It's not a "bad" thing to be designated PEP. But it does mean there are certain risks associated.
For more information, see:
Global PEP List – Politically Exposed Persons
Wolfsberg FAQ's on Politically Exposed Persons
Politically Exposed Persons
Politically Exposed Persons—Overview
Politically exposed persons (PEPs): Good practice
Even off-shore banks in a tax haven like the Caymans must follow tough guidelines and stand up to international scrutiny when it comes to money laundering activity. So, these banks are required to take special measures when dealing with customers who are designated PEP.
Within the context of this required level of customer scrutiny, the Caymans enjoy some of the strictest banking secrecy laws in the world.
The Attorney General in Grand Cayman can not release any information whatsoever regarding the ownership or non-ownership of accounts for Politcally Exposed Persons. (As a matter of fact, this same rule applies to banks in Trinidad and Tobago.)
And the banks themselves can not issue the sort of information and representations Sharon Rowley has loudly claimed. The General Manager of the Alexandria Bankcorp can't acknowledge there is or is not an account, because banking law does not allow it. Serious penalties accompany these banking secrecy rules, not to mention the reputations of large financial institutions hang on the concept of privacy. Imagine if a bank reported: there is no account... there is no account... well, actually, we have no comment. That would certainly indicate there was an account, so the standard Agency Lender Disclosure legal requirement is "no comment."
The same goes for First Citizens Bank of TT. They can not release Sharon Rowley's account - only she can do that - and she certainly would not reveal it voluntarily or risk exposing all their funds and movement of their money.
Based on documents we have seen and conversations we've held, Sharon and Keith Rowley are Lying. No one in authority has said there is no Cayman account - neither Attorney General John Jeremie nor the Alexandria Bancorp in Cayman. Sharon Rowley is clearly lying, and alone in her denial, which rings hollow and suspicious. Dr Rowley has only come out to say that he personally has no account in Cayman. Well, no one has suggested that is so – it was alleged his wife does. It is merely documented that Dr Rowley is signatory to his wife's accounts, worth upward of U.S. $6,000,000, and that these accounts were not disclosed under the Integrity Act. And there seems to be enough evidence pointing in that direction to warrant an investigation.
Here we have Mrs Rowley fervently denying ownership of accounts and waving letters and statements which are flatly illegal and therefore presumably false. There we have Dr Rowley attempting to distance himself from his wife's finances, but loudly claiming that HE has no account off-shore account.
As we have explained, a Politically Exposed Person is at risk of corruption and therefore his close friends and family are suspect as well.
An investigation must be conducted in this matter, but it can only be performed by an anti-corruption commission with special subpoena powers.
If they care one speck about the people and the people's money, they will save us the time and trouble of an investigation. Dr and Mrs Rowley must open ALL their finances, and especially the First Citizens Bank accounts. The Attorney General may not have jurisdiction in the Cayman islands, but he and the Integrity Commission can surely look into the allegations of current or past accounts with First Citizens and the purchase of bonds.
They will never do it, because of the risk of being exposed. As a couple, they should be the poster children for Politically Exposed Persons who try to hide ill-gotten gains.
And as we have seen for years, the cover-up will ultimately hurt more than the crime itself.
Cartel Watch calls for Dr Rowley and his wife to come clean - or face a real investigation.
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