Monday, 12 December 2011 02:30 Colin Sampson
Antigua St John's - A group of United States senators has again asked the US Senate to recommend the imposition of economic and financial sanctions on Antigua & Barbuda.
The proposed sanctions are outlined in Senate Resolution No 346, placed before the Senate on December 8.
The full text of Senate Resolution 346 is appended below.
The resolution deals extensively with matters relating to actions taken by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda (GOAB) in response to the Allen Stanford debacle.
Resolution 346 describes Antigua & Barbuda as committing “numerous acts against the interest of US citizens,” violating “the order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas,” and challenging “the authority of the (said) Court” as well as “the authority of the United States Department of Justice”.
The resolution accuses the GOAB of benefitting from Stanford International Bank (SIB) certificates of deposit to the tune of US$85M, and demands the return of the money. It also points to a March 2010 statement by the GOAB which shows that Antigua & Barbuda knew – or ought to have known – that SIB was operating outside accepted banking international standards.
In this connection, Resolution 346 accuses Antigua & Barbuda of harbouring former FSRC CEO Leroy King by failing to extradite him to the US to stand trial. The role played by former finance minister Dr Errol Cort, and his law firm, Cort & Cort, was not overlooked. The resolution alleges that over US$1M of Stanford investor funds found its way either to Cort or the firm.
Most striking, perhaps, is the specific mention of the expropriation by the GOAB of the Half Moon Bay resort property. This matter is prominently referred to in Resolution 346, and among the several remedies (acts of restitution and subordination) that the US Senate is asked to require from Antigua & Barbuda is a demand that Antigua & Barbuda fulfill its obligations regarding the expropriation.
The ultimate punch line of Resolution 346 is found in the final paragraph, which reads as follows:
“The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United States Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association (commonly known as the “World Bank'') and the International Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to ensure that any future loan made by the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is conditioned on providing complete redress of the matters, and satisfaction of the requirements, described under paragraph (1).”
The resolution was read into the Congressional Record and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for further consideration before being returned to the floor of the Senate for possible action.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is chaired by John Kerry (D) Massachusetts – no stranger to Antigua & Barbuda. However Richard Lugar (R) Indiana is Ranking Member (Leader of the Minority). Something of a Republican activist, Lugar is seen as likely to take the matter up by scheduling a hearing before the committee.
This is not the first time the United States Senate has been asked to adopt a resolution of this kind. In 2009, the Senate passed a comparable resolution, on that occasion sponsored by a group of seven senators led by Senator Richard Shelby (R) Alabama.
In 2010, Congressman Mike Coffman (R) Colorado introduced a similar measure into the House of Representatives. Coffman is expected to revive his own resolution in support of the latest action in the Senate.
The House Committee on Foreign Relations is chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen (R) Florida. Ross-Lehtinen represents a state where many investors lost huge sums in the fall of the Stanford Empire. She has already indicated her willingness to hold hearings in the matter.
After hearings – most likely early in 2012 - the House and Senate committees may bring the matter to the floor of their respective chambers with a recommendation to proceed with a general vote.
Senate Resolution No 346 is sponsored by senators David Vitter (R) Louisiana, Thad Cochran (R) Mississippi, Roger Wicker (R) Mississippi, and Richard Shelby (R) Alabama. All these senators represent states where many citizens have been severely damaged by the collapse of the alleged Allen Stanford “Ponzi Scheme”.
Senator Vitter is a member of the Senate Committee on Banking and the Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship – among others.
Ranking Member (Leader of the Minority) on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Cochran fulfills the same role on the Subcommittee on Defense, and serves on the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Senator Wicker is an active member of the Senate Committees on Banking, Commerce and Armed Services.
Possibly the most powerful of the resolution’s four co-sponsors, Senator Shelby is Leader of the Minority on the Senate Banking Committee. He also serves on several Subcommittees, including Economic Policy, Financial Institutions and International Trade & Finance.
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