January 8, 2020
Attorney General Carl Bethel. (File photo)
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Sanctions letters for 11 registered agents
The government has issued sanctions warnings to 11 financial services providers for failing to supply beneficial ownership details on corporate entities they act for, the attorney general revealed yesterday.
August target for end of restrictions
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel said the Minnis administration wants to remove the COVID-19 emergency restrictions by August but that doing so will depend on infection rates and the behaviour of residents.
AG: What is going on is not acceptable
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel blasted developed countries for hoarding COVID-19 vaccines during a debate in the Senate yesterday.
6 MORE MONTHS: Emergency laws extended due to low vaccine uptake and threat from variants
GOVERNOR General Sir Cornelius A Smith has declared another state of emergency for the country, citing low vaccination numbers and the third wave of COVID-19 cases in New Providence and Grand Bahama.
Marijuana legislation promised ‘by end of budget year’
MARIJUANA legislation, once approved by Cabinet, will be introduced to Parliament before the end of the budget year, Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday.
AG admitted that Royal Caribbean ‘unreasonable’
The attorney general previously admitted to the Bahamian developer battling for a Paradise Island crown land lease that Royal Caribbean was being “unreasonable” with its rival demands.
AG: replacement for Emergency Orders still in consultation
A DRAFT of a post-Emergency Orders Bill that will replace current COVID-19 restrictions is still in the “consultation phase”, Attorney General Carl Bethel said.
Bethel: We followed the law on contracts
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel was adamant yesterday that government has followed the law regarding how contracts are to be awarded.
Bethel: I did not throw clerk under the bus
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel has taken issue with statements House Speaker Halson Moultrie made on Monday about a scheduling conflict in the Senate last week, insisting he did not mislead anyone on the matter or throw the parliamentary clerk “under the bus”.
U.S. queries Bahamas financial crime pursuit
The attorney general yesterday declared that The Bahamas had largely received “a fair assessment” even though the US questioned this nation’s commitment to prosecuting financial crime.
Vaccination rollout ties to relaxing restrictions
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel has defended the government’s decision to seek an extension of the COVID-19 emergency orders until May 23, saying the move was done “out of an abundance of caution” in response to new coronavirus variants now spreading worldwide.
Gov't and BPC 'dispute' outstanding licence fees
Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) yesterday warned against "making mountains out of molehills" after it was revealed the Government had refused to accept its payment of outstanding licence fees.
Wrong e-mail caused blacklisting by France
The Bahamas was blacklisted by France because of an incorrect e-mail address, the attorney general has revealed to Tribune Business.
PM pushes overhaul over land ownership
The Prime Minister wants to create a land registration system in The Bahamas in a bid to eliminate the abuses and "injustice" suffered by thousands of Bahamians under the present opaque order.
Gov't pays 'millions' to solve land scam
The Government has paid "several million dollars" to a private developer to "bring order out of chaos" and secure the homes of several hundred families who were swindled in a massive land scam.
DRILLING BEGINS . . . but Bethel says govt will negotiate a bigger share if oil is found
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel assured Bahamians that the government intends to renegotiate the scale of royalty fees if commercial quantities of oil are found in the country.
‘From strength to strength’ on FATF delisting
THE attorney general has voiced optimism the financial services industry will go “from strength to strength” after The Bahamas’ efforts to shore up its anti-financial crime regime gained global approval.
Attorney General to speak to EU about removal from blacklist
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel is expected to make recommendations to European finance officials today on the way forward concerning the country’s removal from the European blacklist.
Draft bill on marijuana expected 'in short order'
A DRAFT bill on marijuana legislation is expected to be presented to Cabinet “in very short order,” Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday. However, Mr Bethel told The Tribune he could not give a definite timeline on the matter as he is still w
AG wants investigation over 'rummaging'
Attorney General Carl Bethel requested a police investigation after he said a stranger is suspected of rummaging through old tabled documents in the Senate. Speaking in the upper chamber yesterday, Mr Bethel recalled coming into the Senate and meeti
A.G. probe into land ownership claims
A Bahamian developer yesterday warned new dubious land practices are threatening to "wreak havoc" for the construction and real estate industries.
Bethel says sorry for failing to renew emergency orders
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel apologised yesterday after his office failed to deliver a resolution extending Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ emergency orders in time for last week’s sitting of the House of Assembly, causing the Governor General’s ori
AG's office fails to deliver emergency orders extension in time
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel apologised Monday after his office failed to deliver a resolution extending Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis' emergency orders in time for last week’s sitting of the House of Assembly, causing the Governor General’s original proclamation of emergency to end at midnight.
HACKERS STRIKE AT GOVT SYSTEM: Russians and Bulgarians behind cyber raid on key banking and personal data
The Government is "betwixt and between" over the Registrar General's Department's cyber security woes after being forced to again shut down its online database following fresh hacking attempts.
BETHEL TO FIGHT COURT’S RULING: Citizenship move to be fought in ‘public’s interest’
THE Office of the Attorney General will appeal a groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling that children born in the country out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women are citizens at birth and do not have to wait until 18 to apply for citizenship.
Our foot’s on your neck, EU warns
The Attorney General last night said senior European officials and politicians have warned The Bahamas: "We won't take our foot off your neck until you implement a corporate income tax."
EU blacklists over money laundering
The Attorney General yesterday said it was "especially distressing" that Europe appears to have ignored The Bahamas' "herculean efforts" in preparing to again blacklist this nation.
AG: 'We were protecting vulnerable from calamity'
The attorney general yesterday pledged to “clarify” a life and health insurance order that was designed to prevent poor and elderly policyholders suffering a “catastrophe” amid the COVID-19 crisis. Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that the gover
Bethel urges landlords to be lenient with rent
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel has urged landlords to be lenient with rent collection as “everybody has to take a hit” during the pandemic. While addressing the issue of rent relief in the Senate, Mr Bethel said there “obviously” needs to be some dialogue about the matter during this economic and health crisis.
AG: We can get 'strict' on banks
The Attorney General yesterday warned that the government could get “very strict” by forcing banks to close their branch doors as part of efforts to combat the COVID-19m pandemic.
30 more days? Bethel suggests extension to lockdown likely
WHEN Parliament convenes on Monday it will likely agree to extend the 24-hour curfew based on the recommendation of medical experts.
Munroe is simply wrong, says AG Bethel
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel said Wayne Munroe, QC, is “plain and simply wrong” with his criticism of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ emergency powers order.
AG: Entrepreneur 'extremely selfish'
The attorney general last night accused a local entrepreneur of “extreme selfishness” by rejecting a Paradise Island compromise that was “in the best interests of The Bahamas”. Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that it was an “absolutely untrue a
GUILTY AS CHARGED: Conviction rate hits 80% as trial backlog clogs courts system
THE conviction rate for serious offences has increased to almost 80 percent, Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday.
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