ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder.
By FAY SIMMONS
Tribune Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
The Attorney General yesterday revealed that the Government plans to meet with senior Trump administration officials over “unfair” US criticisms of The Bahamas’ anti-financial crime regime.
Speaking to Tribune Business, Ryan Pinder KC reiterated that the narrative being pushed about the strength of The Bahamas’ financial regulatory regime is “dated” so the meeting will allow the Davis administration to explain this nation has a robust compliance regime that is “tighter” than the US’ own.
“We want to do a high level delegation to Washington, hopefully to meet with the treasury secretary, hopefully meet with State Department, certainly the Securities & Exchange Commission and some other high level financial services representatives, to really give them an idea on the level of compliance of The Bahamas, on how we excel in areas of anti-money laundering regulation, and to give them some of the objective opinions and determinations on The Bahamas so we can try to change this narrative,” said Mr Pinder.
“We think the narrative is unfair. We think it’s dated, and we certainly don’t think that it is indicative of who The Bahamas is. We raise the point that we have a tighter regulatory framework and regime than the United States does in and of themselves on anti-money laundering. And I think that’s a message that has to be communicated to try to change the narrative coming out of Washington on The Bahamas.”
Mr Pinder said the meeting will also allow the Government to discuss the Bahamas becoming the preferred country for US-based businesses looking to expand to and create a “near shore presence”. He added that as this nation has a “long-standing co-operative framework” with the US, and close geographic proximity, there exists an opportunity to advance business relations.
“We also think that there are opportunities when we have this diplomatic trip to speak to the policymakers in the United States on how The Bahamas is well positioned to advance the promotion of business here, and especially business between The Bahamas and businesses in the United States. I call it a near shore experience, or near shore presence,” said Mr Pinder.
“We want to be that near shore option for businesses doing business in the United States. When they have to expand their business abroad or have an international presence, The Bahamas should be that international presence where they have operations.
“We have a long-standing cooperative framework with the United States. And we think those are some opportunities that we can leverage by going to Washington and by having high-end policy and diplomatic communications”
Mr Pinder said he expects the discussions to be “fruitful” as members of the Trump administration have ties to The Bahamas and will likely be “receptive” to their opinions.He added that reports such as the recent International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2025 are not “high-end policy driven” but “technician and bureaucratic driven” so speaking to the Trump administration at a policy level will help change the narrative.
“I think they would be very fruitful. It’s no secret that the treasury secretary has a house in The Bahamas and spends a considerable amount of time in The Bahamas and, frankly, he loves The Bahamas. It’s also no secret that Marco Rubio is from South Florida and has a lot of engagement and knowledge about The Bahamas. I think we would have some receptive ears in the room at that level,” said Mr Pinder.
“I think the tragedy is that a lot of these reports that come out of Washington, such as the most recent report, are not high-end policy driven reports. They’re technician and bureaucratic-driven reports. So I think it’s important that we speak to our friends, speak to those who would appreciate The Bahamas at that senior policy level, and I think that will go a long way of changing the narrative.”
Comments
TalRussell 4 days, 4 hours ago
Bahamians irrespective of colour or political status -- rich, upper and middle class or poor should carefully consider the risk implications and potential challenges of traveling to the USA. -- Yes?
ExposedU2C 3 days, 10 hours ago
This doofus AG Pinder, slimy Fwreddy Boy Mitchell, and roly-poly Davis, and others like them, all seem totally incapable of understanding that U.S. voters, when they spoke at the polls last November, gave President Trump a decisive mandate to do whatever it takes to protect the national security interests of the United States of America. In his first term President Trump made it abundantly clear that the U.S. simply can no longer afford to sit idly by and allow other nations by their own actions or inactions threaten vital U.S. interests no matter how loud their whining appeals about respecting sovereign or human rights may become.
These three dimwits (Pinder, Mitchell and Davis) are putting their longing for public attention above the social, economic, and security interests of the Bahamian people by seeking to inflame an already very annoying pimple on the backside of the now angry elephant that sits on top of us.
Bluntly put, U.S. citizens have every right to expect their country not to be threatened or put in harms way as a result of the many failings of our own nation. For decades Bahamian voters have been electing extremely corrupt, incompetent and most unfit individuals to public office with the result being a financially unstable and crippled small nation overridden by illegal aliens, violent gang activities, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, etc., not to mention the many other with serious consequences of dreadful social and economic policies, including our corrupt legal system that now only works to help grow the great divide between the 'few haves' and the 'many have nots' in our now predominantly impoverished society.
And, as if the above were not enough, our nation has gone out of its way to antagonize the U.S. government by cosying up to the evil ChiComs keen desire to establish a strategic stronghold for their intelligence gathering and other activities, including planned military use of of islands and territorial waters, in ways that threaten the national security interests of the U.S.
All not good for a nation very dependent on U.S. tourists with many of us wishing to remain able to easily obtain a visa to travel to the U.S. Pinder, Mitchell, and Davis, need serious reminding of where our nation stands on the global ladder. Our rung and pecking order is far below where these three clowns think it is.
trueBahamian 3 days ago
He sees business opportunities. Lol. Is he serious? The strategy is to bring parts of businesses that are offshore back to the US. So, why would they agree to.that idea? Also, the government is terrible with regards to the ease of doing business. So, why agree to this? Also, you have power outages, ruptured water lines causing disruption in water flow and you can't guarantee you have internet and phone service uninterrupted. I guess in this dream the AG sees Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.
ExposedU2C 2 days, 14 hours ago
You can bet President Trump told Secretary of State Marco Rubio to leave The Bahamas for him to personally deal with after reviewing the dossiers compiled by the U.S. State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies on our dorky AG Ryan Pinder, who was born in the U.S. and purports to have officially renounced his U.S. citizenship; our sleaze ball minister of foreign affairs, better known as tootie fruity Fwreddy Boy Mitchell, who is the very definition of a fake-intellect; and our most corrupt, incompetent, and wimpy wannabe Climate Czar PM, roly-poly Davis.
These clowns may be among those who soon get summons to a meeting with Trump and certain key hawkish members of his cabinet at the Southern White House where they will be read the riot act and get told in no uncertain terms what will be in store for our small nation, and its people, if they continue refusing to play ball with the new Trump administration.
President Trump is well aware of the high ranking current and former members of the PLP and FNM parties, and their wealthy cronies, who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes for many years to line their greedy pockets in ways that undermine the stability of our nation and the Caribbean region and thereby threaten U.S. national security interests.
President Trump, Florida Governor DeSantis and others like them, are all fired up about the unacceptable risks we have created for the U.S. by allowing our nation's financial stability to be crippled by decades of unchecked and out-of-control corruption, waste, fraud and abuse that has enabled illegal aliens (including vicious gang members) to invade our nation (and by extension the U.S.) and opened the door to the sinister and evil ChiComs using their debt-trap modus operandi to establish a strategic foothold on the door step of the U.S.
It is simply unbelievable that these three buffoons, Mitchell, Pinder, and Davis, now wish to further antagonize the already very irritated Trump administration by foolishly beating their chests in public while huffing and puffing (whining) about our sovereign rights not being respected when it is our nation, by its own failures, that has caused U.S. national security interests to be seriously threatened by violent criminal activity associated with illegal aliens as well as the sinister and evil motives of the ChiComs.
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