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Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says he does not think that the name of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has suffered as a result of two of its citizens and two offshore banks based here being indicted in a US$50 million fraud case in the United States.

“In banking business, from time to time, you may have things which are done where allegations are made. Even within ordinary commercial banks,” he told a press conference in Kingstown on Monday.

Vincentian Linda Bullock, 57, and Adrian Baron, 63, who is originally from Hungary, along with Loyal Bank, an off-shore bank with offices in Budapest, Hungary and SVG; and Loyal Agency and Trust Corp. (“Loyal Agency”), an off-shore management company located SVG, are among six individuals and four corporate defendants indicted in US$50 million international securities fraud and money laundering schemes.

The indictment in New York was unsealed on March 1.

Asked if he thinks that the indictment of the Vincentian nationals and corporate entities in the alleged schemes have damaged the nation’s reputation, Gonsalves said:

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“Did the billions of dollars in which [Bernard] Madoff was involved in skimming off in New York, has that tarnished the name of New York City? If the billion which we have problem with — you read about it all the time — with what happened in London, the city of London, the city of London is still the leading financial centre in the world.

“The point about it is this: is how you have the oversight, the laws you have, the structure, the systems that you have in place. And I want to say this: under this government, we established two important institutions in this respect which we are talking about: the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Services Authority.”

4 replies on “$50m fraud indictment hasn’t damaged SVG’s reputation — PM”

  1. We cannot trust our PM on this kind of information. He even believes the Yugge Farrell saga has done no damage to anyone in the ULP.

  2. Adrian Baron is an Englishman from Brighton in the UK, he does not own the bank was only used as a managerial front for the operation in SVG. The owners are Hungarians. Baron is now living and working in Hungary he is in charge of new business, in that capacity has travelled the world, you will find Mr Baron on and all his travels on facebook

  3. Of course this matter damages SVG, everything negative affects SVG. All the dirty deeds affect SVG they are collective and cumulative. Just one more thing to add to the list of reasons to stay away for commercial operators of good standing and decency, reason to withhold and refrain from investing in SVG. No one wants to invest in a dodgy country with a prime minister who has a dodgy view that bad things such as this do no damage.
    Nano
    William Wise
    A whole host of past dodgy banks
    SVG was on EU Blacklist
    Dave Ames
    Harlequin
    Thousands of British retirees [Harlequin Investors] losing their savings and some their remortgaged homes in the UK.
    Investors in proposed [stupidity] city
    Cocaine Distribution point from Venezuela
    Marijuana Farming
    Gun Crime
    Continual flow of murders
    Continual flow of rapes
    46% of employable Vincentians unemployed
    A dirty dishevelled capital city, Kingstown. Sewage and kitchen waste flowing in some gutters and drains
    Nasty roads full of holes
    Expensive electricity
    The government burning of tyres
    Government taking sand from beaches causing beach erosion.
    High and unreasonable import duties and tariffs
    VAT applied unreasonably on many items that should be exempt
    Government sponsored destruction of the agricultural industry
    Government destruction of all industry
    Nasty laws made by nasty lawmakers
    Saint Vincent offshore bank used to fund leftwing in Spain [perhaps elsewhere] by President Maduro of Venezuela.
    Membership of ALBA
    Friendship with North Korea, Iran and all those nasty states who kill their own people
    Friendship with Venezuela and Cuba.
    All of those would be negatives considered by some tourists and most investors.

    I remember when PM Gonsalves said when considering investors “we do not expect them to be angels” but we must make him aware that we the people do not expect them to be crooks either.

  4. Is this PM serious? By being in the crosshairs of the FBI, it is not simply not narrow focus; there is always scrutiny beyond the scope of the matter at hand.
    It is truly unfortunate that the island has a leader who does not understand an investigative process over which he has no control… Is it that he is listening the Mullahs in Iran,and or eating from the foot of Maduro’ table? Vincentians, it is time to create your own vision of the future! It is time to change the direction of this vehicle hurtling towards the proverbial cliff!

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