Any word on the HSBC Swiss bank account probe, Gonsalves?

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Two days before the general elections of Dec. 9, 2015, in St Vincent, a document surfaced purporting to show Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves as the holder of a Swiss HSBC account with US$19 million.

Well, Gonsalves went into top gear and swiftly denounced the document as false. The following statement was made by the ULP via a press release and the ULP party website on Dec. 6, 2015 at 12:38 p.m.:

“The Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves, has instructed the Office of the Attorney General to immediately contact the Government of the United States of America under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to investigate a fraudulent bank document with an alleged bank account domiciled to an address in Brooklyn, NY USA”.

“He has further instructed the Commissioner of Police to open a criminal investigation into the fraudulent document locally, which includes any regional or international operatives currently working in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, as well as to immediately contact INTERPOL, the Regional Security System and the Joint Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre of IMPACS to assist in the investigation. He has also instructed the Commissioner of Police to alert the Director of Public Prosecution of these investigations.”

Remember that? Well, I am asking what has happened since. Nothing, nada! I am still waiting for the report from such investigations. Remember this is a most serious matter and the Vincentian people deserve that information to come to an informed conclusion.

It’s approaching eight months and not a word, not a mention.

When the allegations arose, Ralph E Gonsalves vehemently denied having anything to do with the account purportedly in his name at HSBC and he said it was not his money either. He claimed that the account did not exist.

It crossed my mind this morning perhaps someone had opened an account in his name and deposited US$19 million in it out of political spite. The Unity Labour Party claimed to be holding its own internal investigation; what that means, God only knows.

Still, the findings of such investigation have not been revealed to the public. We still do not know more now than we knew then. Why is that?

I found it rather strange that Gonsalves’ declaration at the time that the people who had implicated him in what he called a fabrication of the US$19 million held in his name in HSBC Bank in Switzerland came from St Vincent, Grenada and Europe; how did he instantly know that?

For the sake of the comrade’s good name, we need to clear this matter up; we want answers, we demand answers. I am sure he would never do such a thing and I believe that someone deposited without his knowledge US$19 million just to make him look bad. So let’s ask the United States to help us clear the comrade’s name of such a nasty act.

Doesn’t it all sound like a Nigerian email scam offering a dip into a deceased person’s account who does not or has never existed?

Comrade, it’s time for some more information.

Peter Binose

Copy: US State Department, UK, EU

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