P.U.P. counterattacks; Singh denies allegations
The incumbent People’s United Party has been stung in recent weeks by a number of allegations involving corruption in high places. Today the P.U.P. initiated a long expected counterattack, with the first jab leveled at U.D.P. chairman and Freetown candidate Doug Singh. The P.U.P. campaign is trying to place Singh as a central figure in an investigation into possible money laundering by a Canadian owned, Belize registered, international business company. Having heard the rumours and looked at the ads News Five’s Stewart Krohn spoke to the U.D.P. official just before newstime.
Douglas Singh, U.D.P. Candidate, Freetown
“This started around November last year when I was visited by the Financial Investigation Unit or Financial Intelligence Unit, I think it’s called, investigating a company called Goldman and Stein, with some principles in Canada and we provided what information we could to them. My business, the company that I operate, sets up companies, international companies for clients all over the world. We do a few hundred of them and there are about twenty-five or so thousand companies registered in Belize under the International Business Companies Act. We represent just a few hundred of them. It is normal, and it is required under the law that they maintain a registered office and a registered agent in Belize. So, we would have basic information on these individuals in context of their name, etc., etc. and in context of this, there was one of those companies, actually there are hundreds of companies under investigation, but one of them happens to have been a company that was established through my company, and we have no operations with them, we do not provide financial services, we do not get involved with any affairs with any of those clients who we establish companies for as is the nature with the international business companies act, and they’re making allegations that I’m involved with money laundering with respect with one of the companies, which is ridiculous, and they are aware of that. I actually met with Mr. Keith Arnold who is the director of the Financial Intelligence Unit today and we had a lengthy conversation in context of these charges that are being made, and he said unequivocally that there is absolutely no investigation associated with Doug Singh or my company. As a matter of fact I have some of those things on record and in context of how they use their information because it’s just designed for slander, this is politics and we are at the countdown at this point in time and whatever they can find and use, whether it is libelous or malicious they will use. Understanding that if that is going to give them an edge, or under mind me or discredit me in the eyes of the public, that they will choose to use that, we have all the information, I have nothing to hide. We’re in the process of producing an ad where we will provide the information on my personal financial affairs and my business affairs, which I think is what we mean when we talk about transparency.”
Stewart Krohn, Reporting
“To be fair Doug, if a company that you’re the registered agent for is under investigation for money laundering, is it such a long leap to be tarred with that brush?”
Douglas Singh
“No, no absolutely not, you see it’s a difficult thing, one would have to understand the context of the law that requires a Belize agent to be the resident agent for international business companies establish under the act in Belize. It’s not unorthodox at all, because you may not even have met the people.”
Stewart Krohn
“So let me get this straight, for example, under this law you couldn’t register as the agent for Osama Bin Laden Incorporated and be totally immune from whatever business he might be conducting?”
Douglas Singh
“No, no, not necessarily, when an individual applies for an international business company, they provide identification, they provide basic information on themselves and this information is used to process the application, establish the company and is mailed off to them. In ninety-nine percent of the cases you don’t actually meet the individuals that the companies are set up for, but this is not unusual, there are about thirty or forty countries in the world that have this in place, that provide companies for individuals who want to have asset management services or privacy services and the Belize law provides for it. The only thing that the Belize law requires is that a Belize company acts as a resident agent and a resident office for that company, and this is a way for the Belize companies to actually benefit under the International Business Companies Act.”
Singh told News Five that upon learning of the investigation he immediately resigned as the company’s agent. Since the terror attacks of September 11th law enforcement agencies worldwide have become extremely sensitive to suspicious international transfers of large sums of money.
