Newt Utopia

This is my last column, I have seen the doctor and he has seen me. I was enticed by the Editor's offer many years ago to write a bit more about fraud and the consequences of fraud. So began a

Bahamas extradites Drug King Pin Samuel “Ninety” Knowles, 50, was finally exported to the United States in late August, 2006 to face narcotics trafficking charges. Knowles had fought extradition for nearly six years. Even after the arrest and deportation of

DominicaThe financial services sector is still a farce. The International Financial Center building, built to offer high quality offices to the community, was completed just as the financial sector was gutted by regulations and scandals. When it opened, the only

Information about Diploma Mills, St Kitts & Nevis, and Spam.

Belize - Very Sad; Bahamas - IRAN; and Nevis - Nevis Mutual Fund Ordinance.

Bolivia, Russia, Cyprus, Singapore, and Comment.

Antigua vs. USA The April 3rd deadline imposed by The World Trade Organization for the USA to clarify its stance on online gambling, in a case the WTO trade court decided against the USA and in favor of the

St. Kitts: Noel Heath and Glenroy Matthew finally extradited to USA; Costa Rica: New tax bill on its way to becoming law; Anguilla: New laws passed dealing with insurance, protected cell companies and mutual funds; Dubai: Dubai International Financial Centre issues first hedge fund license.

U. S. Tries to ban Internet Gambling (Who woke up the hypocrites?); and The Physics of High Yield Investment Programs (Or How Much is a Ponzi Weight?).

The nuts are loose and HYIPs are seemingly thriving. In the last three weeks, I have been hit with more questions about HYIPs than I have ever seen. So, for the readers and my morbid curiosity, I researched the world of HYIPs and saw what there was to see.

Antigua; St. Lucia; and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Swedish savings and loans, Greg “Top Gun” Gustin, and Credit Card Aggregators.

The US Dollar versus the Euro There is much surprise in the “blogs” and from “analysts” about how resilient the dollar has been against the Euro. Europhiles such as Warren Buffett purchased a great deal of Euro denominated bonds and

The BahamasYes, it still considers itself an offshore financial center. The Bahamas offers a number of attractive features if 1) You don't live in the US, 2) You don't live in the EU, 3) You don't mind spending twice the

St. Kitts and Venezuela, another oil refinery story Venezuela is looking at a joint venture to develop a refinery in St. Kitts. The idea is to replace one state sponsored debacle, sugar, with another one - a refinery for asphalt,

When Clients Go Bad!; Montserrat; and the OECD.

Offshore in China; Hong Kong, a brief history; Hong Kong as an Offshore Administrative Base; Macau, a brief history; Macau as an Offshore Administrative Base; How modern Offshore Bookies are operating; and No-Lose Wagering.

Please, EU - Newt was kidding!; Bahamas - Who's on $1.00 bill?; Dominica - What is going on?; the Netherlands Antilles; Structural Warnings for Offshore Business - Grenada & Belize.

The EU Disfigured; A Guaranteed Investment; and Buenos Aires bans offshore shell companies.

Around the Caribbean Offshore Financial Centers BahamasSpring break is in full season and the primary assets are walking around on two legs hibernating from school and snow. Spring break is now probably the largest single revenue event for the Bahamas

Dominica; Bermuda; and China - there're coming.

Derek Guise Turner; Ralph Kuna; Quanpro; Bye, Bye BVI?; Ireland; The Euro; The Swiss; and Grenada.

It's time for HYIP investors to go to jail!; and A Very Large Number: 42 x 10∑ = a Newtillion.

Dose of reality for U. S. in loss to Antigua & Barbuda at World Trade Organization In a 273 page report - plus appendices, the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of Antigua & Barbuda in a trade dispute with

The Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission has announced approval of the Investment Business Order of 2004, which is an updated version of, and replaces, the Investment Business Order of 1991; EU Directive to Impact UK/Caribbean Trust Business; The U. S. Wakes Up - I think; St. Kitts and Nevis: Denzil Douglas is back; and US Elections - The gimlet eye.

Vanuatu It looks like the future for this failed offshore jurisdictions is in hosting Survivor reality television shows. I can't wait to see Survivor Sealand or Survivor Melchizedek.Bahamas The Bahamian Foundation Act has a few quirks that could have made

A look at the pros and cons of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

The Bahamas, St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, FATF/OECD, ECCB  Nations, Offshore Gaming, and Newt's right - again.

Offshore centers have come to play an important role in the institutional structure of international financial markets. The two dimensions of competition underlying offshore financial centers are (1) the competition between the offshore centers and one or more domestic financial markets, and (2) competition amongst the offshore centers. Thus the system of offshore financial centers has created a three-tier structure of international financial markets: (i) domestic, (ii) foreign traditional, and (iii) offshore markets. This is for the financial intermediaries as well as "financial products" markets. Often, the offshore financial markets serve as a catalyst between two domestic financial markets that would, otherwise, be unable to work with one another. An example of this is a US resident forming an IBC to invest in financial instruments not available to US residents.

The More Subtle Side of a Legal System I regularly speak with financial experts from around the world, from which I have learned a great deal. It is truly a treat to see their view of the world and finance

A look at the Comoros Islands, specifically the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority; Bermuda, Nevis, Dominica, and Nauru.

Around the Caribbean Antigua is completely and totally Birdless 90% plus of those eligible to vote queued up in the rain to cast their ballot. People stood in lines for hours to make their mark and boy did they. It

Fiscal Alchemy: Dominica and a Refinery - NOT!

The Duh!!! Diligence Squads; Bank of Belize; Global Bank of Commerce; US Brokers - Confiscate Offshore Assets and Close Accounts; E*TRADE; AG Edwards; and Retribution… please!

Flu fraud?; Gaming; and Some nice notes.

Independence - St. Kitts and Nevis Nevis is moving slowly towards independence. There are many issues governing that decision, but the mood of the people is neither jubilant or angry but, rather, reflects a studied approach to their situation. A

Nevis continues to strive for independence A long anticipated vote for independence in Nevis will be coming. So here is the why, what will happen, and the some dark clouds. Nevis is part of the Federation of St. Kitts and

 A long-anticipated vote for independence in Nevis will be coming. So here is the why, what will happen, and the some dark clouds; and Rita Laframboise - once again!

Newt was (is) right A dog that doesn't wag its own tail is a sad dog. And I'm here to wag my tail. Bermuda But first, on a more somber note, to all of our friends, coworkers and cohorts in

Dominica appears to be embarking on another improbable monster project; an oil and gas refinery. The improbable monster project prior to this was an aluminum smelter; an improbability because Dominica lacks the power infrastructure to supply such a thing.

Proposed U. S. Legislation; Asset Recovery - Rita Laframboise, Queen of the Reloads!; and Rant.

A review of the different island jurisdictions, small duchies and atolls, shows that international financial centers are on the wane. In most cases they have no-one to blame but themselves for acting on the recommendations of "outsiders". By making their jurisdictions more like developed nation jurisdictions, the leaders of these offshore domiciles ensured there was no longer any economic differentiation between them and, therefore, raising the legitimate question: Why bother going offshore?

The history of risk management and the entire modern insurance industry was based upon the mathematics of gaming. In fact, most of what we know today came from the knowledge tree planted by Chevalier de Méré, Blasé Pascal and Pierre

What happened to the little nations that were the first to capitulate to the FATF, OECD and IMF tax bullies? When the FAFT/OECD began the Non Compliant Countries and Territories (NCCT) ploy, they first went after several very small nations. These small nations were some of the first to capitulate and no longer offer a "harmful tax" competition jurisdiction. I am not saying they didn't deserve some of the abuse heaped upon them, but given the wholesale sleaze that exists in major countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, particularly on Wall Street, which is littered with dirt bags wearing expensive suits and working for companies with household names such as Citibank and Goldman Sachs, let's put it into its proper perspective …

The Chinese Caribbean.

Cayman Islands; Dominica; Antigua and Barbuda; St. Kitts & Nevis; and United States currency is being redesigned - again!!!

As International Financial Service Providers (IFSPs), we are supposed to be the most educated and most sophisticated of the financial service providers in the world. We know more about insurance, banking, stocks, bonds and corporate structure than many guys at Goldman Sachs or Merrill Lynch. We assist our clients in dealing with capital that is leaving or will not see, at least for a while, the native soil of the client. This capital is called flight capital.

Jawad Mahmoud Hashim has a doctorate in Economics from the London School of Economics and, by all accounts, he is a smooth and very sophisticated individual who has kept his head while many around him lost theirs.

Dominica Dominica and her citizens are still languishing. The new International Financial Center has opened and by all accounts it is a beautiful building. The idea behind the International Financial Center was to ramp up Dominica's offshore financial services sector

Diamonds have been a symbol of status, power and wealth for as long as history has records. One of the most famous, the Koh i Noor or Mountain of Light, came from the historical diamond mines of the Kollur gorge