Companies that are not up to date in the Companies Registry will be struck off and stand to lose their assets if they cannot properly account to the courts under a law Government is bringing soon to "follow the money" sustaining crime, Attorney General Faris Al Rawi said yesterday.
He detailed measures to "follow the money" of crime, which involves targetting white collar crime in business and land acquisitions, in his contribution to the 2017 Budget debate in Parliament.
"We're going behind the money...rather than putting out a dragnet for two joints. The engine behind crime isn't being attended to. It's not just local, it has a foreign context to it," he said.
The AG said the Financial Intelligence Unit had identified $3.7 billion worth of suspicious transactions in T&T and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force noted T&T's shortcomings in disclosure of beneficial ownership–who is the real owner of an asset.
He said Government is introducing legislation to "follow the money" overall.
"If Trinidad and Tobago truly wants to track criminality, it makes sense to go after people who have suspicious wealth and make them account for how it was acquired and if you can't account for it, you lose it," he said.
"But you don't lose it via the Government interfering, or through the criminal courts, you lose it under due process in the civil courts which can deal with things over one to three years.
"There are videos of alleged drug lords in mansions and we're wondering how they can be so boldfaced, so it's very important to follow the money by making people explain their wealth."
Al Rawi said the process was started with an amnesty for matters in the Company Registry which provided a critical backdrop. As a result, there was an improvement in companies bringing annual returns up to date.
"But roughly half the companies on the Registry are in arrears, especially non-profit companies. We said we had to clean up the Registry and take advantage of the method of striking them out," the AG added.
Once the deadline passes to bring returns up to date, he said, companies that are not up to date will have to be dealt with. There will be an aggressive exercise to strike off companies "but not to go off with their assets–we intend to make the assets pass through an accountable cycle in the courts," he explained
Al Rawi gave the example of the 2014 case of cocaine in orange juice cans from T&T which had involved a defunct company. He said monies may have come into that company.
"You can't just strike it off the Registry. You strike it off and give an account. Explain it in a process through the civil courts," he said
Another aspect of following the money involves tracking beneficial ownership which will have to be declared to the Registry promptly and must be up to date.
If someone doesn't declare ownership to the Registry, this would be an offence subject to the Proceeds of Crime Act.
On individuals particularly, the AG said: "Where do do criminals hide their moneys? They park it in properties,they park it in cash and in companies,"
Al Rawi said Government will shortly be presenting laws targetting ownership in land acquisition that is undeclared.
"There are massive loopholes in the system. No strict registration requirement in certain circumstances. Fraud happens via identify theft in land transactions," he said.
If culprits try to "hide" behind trustees, those trustees will also have to declare and say "who owns what, where and why."
The AG said the moves will radically change crime-fighting.
"White collar crime is the venom in the veins of ctitizens and we're tracking it for the first time. It just involves tightening the system," he said.