Go after kingpins

Small said he recently visited the US Congress in a group where he heard concerns over the Caribbean expressed by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Walters. Of Rubio, he related, “He said there is a concern about the issues regarding the level of crime in Trinidad, the obvious issue of level of ISIS fighters from TT and the general level of illicit drugs and transnational crime through this country.” “She (Walters) addressed the group about their concerns about financial crime happening in particular in the Caribbean region.

We have to understand that other places are looking at us – financial crime, money laundering and the amount of financial crime generated within the Caribbean region which included Trinidad and Tobago.

HURT AND CONCERNED “I’m sitting in the room and when I hear Trinidad and Tobago’s name called it is not in a positive context. I’m deeply, deeply concerned.

No member could have anything positive to say about Trinidad and Tobago. It hurt me.” Small mulled the reality of financial crimes in TT. “Financial crime doesn’t exit in TT. According to the SE C (Securities Exchange Commission) there has never been any prosecution.

There has been zero prosecutions and zero convictions for white collar crime in TT. But other people in other places are looking at us and saying, ‘there is financial crime’. It exists. “So why isn’t it being detected? Why? Is it because we are such a small society that everyone is protecting everyone? If we really want to deal with crime we have to deal with the guys who are actually performing the heinous crime on the ground.

But then you have to graduate to those who are in the white collars...

those who are the kingpins.” Small said the kingpins are “calling the shots” and are “doing things that destabilise the economy, destabilise the country and reduce people’s confidence in the financial system.” Alluding to a lack of penalty following major financial scandals, he said, “The FCB IPO – it is as if it never occurred. There’s not a prosecution I’m aware of.” Likewise he said the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) scandal involved a man paying himself a million dollar salary, only for the whole collapse to be ultimately bailed out by taxpayer dollars.

“People are committing financial crime and no penalty is applied.”