Topic: corruption
Attorney general defends Cayman’s record on asset recovery
Attorney General Samuel Bulgin insists Cayman is doing all it can to go after the ill-gotten gains of criminals, despite a seven year delay in seizing funds from convicted fraudster Canover Watson.
Civil servants among 19 summoned in corruption probe
Public officer Ricardo Roach, together with 18 others, have been summoned to appear in court on to answer for a range of offences from bribery to data protection breaches following an Anti-Corruption Commission probe.
Commissioner Walton: I will root out rotten officers
Crooked and corrupt cops will find no refuge within the ranks of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Services, according to Commissioner Kurt Walton who has vowed to rid the service of any officer who disgraces their badge.
Is a 100-foot setback enough to clinch a $30M 10-storey development?
A ten-storey complex will not be as imposing as its neighbours, a developer argued in a planning meeting on Wednesday, because it is set 100 feet further back from the road.
Governor: Law to go after proceeds of crime not ‘where it needs to be’
Governor Martyn Roper said Cayman needs to do more when it comes to going after the proceeds of crime.
Cayman using BVI corruption report to strengthen internal controls
Cayman has commenced an exercise to review and where necessary implement recommendations from the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry corruption report to strengthen local systems, Governor Martyn Roper has said.
BVI corruption report recommends UK direct rule
The commission of inquiry into corruption allegations in the British Virgin Islands has recommended the temporary suspension of the island's Constitution and the transfer of power to the UK appointed Governor for two years, in the first instance.
BVI governor orders inquiry into alleged political corruption
The outgoing governor of the British Virgin Islands has established a commission of inquiry in response to allegations of widespread political corruption, misuse of public funds and intimidation in the islands.
Moss, Watson and Webb charged with fraud
Charmaine Moss, Jeffrey Webb and Canover Watson are all jointly charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud CONCACAF (Confederation, North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football).
Defence makes case in ongoing corruption trial
Attorneys for three women accused of defrauding the government through a scheme to pay to pass Immigration Department English-language tests mounted their defence in the Grand Court this week.
Former football officials Watson, Blake charged
Two former senior officials of the Cayman Islands Football Association have been charged with a string of offences, including money laundering and false accounting, in connection with an ongoing corruption probe.
Caribbean Commonwealth nations seek unity against corruption
To address the “corrosive cancer” that is corruption, governments will need to recommit to the fight against graft and put their words into action, according to Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.
Caribbean anti-corruption conference starts Monday
Anti-corruption watchdogs from around the region will meet in Grand Cayman this week for the fifth annual conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies.
Auditor General calls for stronger anti-corruption measures
The Office of the Auditor General released a report on public corruption Friday, calling for government to enact a long-dormant law designed to prevent conflicts of interests in government.
Cayman Turtle Centre worker suspended in corruption probe
A Cayman Turtle Centre worker has been suspended and reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission after "purchasing irregularities" were discovered during an audit.
Hospital security workers arrested in corruption probe
Two supervisors at the Health Services Authority’s security office were arrested Monday in connection with an ongoing criminal probe into staff overtime payments.
Sources: Watson arrested again in football funds probe
Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson was arrested Monday by officers from the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Cayman Compass has confirmed through numerous official sources.
Three charged in immigration fraud case
Criminal charges were filed Monday against three people in an ongoing corruption investigation involving the Cayman Islands Immigration Department.
Massive unknown costs for Tempura investigation
The Cayman Islands government has spent more than $10 million in relation to the failed Operation Tempura corruption investigation since 2007.
11th person arrested in corruption probe
Police and anti-corruption investigators arrested a 57-year-old woman Tuesday in connection with an ongoing probe in which 11 people have been arrested since January this year.
US$3 million sought from FIFA defendant Takkas
Attorneys for world football’s Central/North American and Caribbean region have asked a U.S. court to order FIFA corruption defendant and former Cayman Islands resident Costas Takkas to pay US$3 million to the Caribbean Football Union in recompense for bribe money ultimately given to Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb.
Sentencing for FIFA defendant Takkas set for Oct. 31
Longtime Cayman Islands resident and former Jeffrey Webb attaché Costas Takkas will be sentenced Oct. 31 in a U.S. federal court. Takkas, who pleaded guilty in May, will learn his fate in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, according to court records.
NEW: Second arrest in anti-corruption probe
A second man was arrested Friday in connection with a corruption and money laundering investigation being conducted by the Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commission.
Attorneys seek half-year delay in Webb’s sentencing
It may be at least another six months before Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb learns his fate in the ongoing FIFA corruption probe. Webb’s attorney Edward O’Callaghan filed a request with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday asking the court to adjourn the sentencing date.
Rahn: Corruption and prosperity
What is the single most important determinate as to whether a country is rich or poor? It is not the level of government spending, taxation, regulation or monetary stability – even though those factors are very important. It is the rule of law, whereby the rules are known and fair, equally applied to all, and where corruption is not tolerated.
Two arrests for corruption made in 2015/16
The Cayman Islands government recorded two arrests and one conviction for corruption-related offenses during its last budget year, according to a report made public last month.
FIFA trial set for November 2017
A U.S. federal court has set Nov. 6, 2017 as the start date for what prosecutors expect will be at least a two-month trial for eight defendants charged in the FIFA corruption probe.
Corruption charges filed against RCIPS employees
Two suspended civilian Royal Cayman Islands Police Service employees were charged Friday with corruption-related offenses connected to thousands of dollars in alleged unauthorized purchases from a local grocery store.
EDITORIAL – Supporting our Cayman delegation in London
“Politics stops at the water’s edge” is the now-famous saying by Arthur Vandenburg, the former Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who called for a stop to partisan politics when international relations were concerned.
US court refuses bid for Webb plea deal
A U.S. federal court judge refused a news organization’s bid on Friday for documents disclosing details of a plea agreement with Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb and two other high-profile defendants in the ongoing FIFA corruption probe.
FIFA corruption trial date vacated
A criminal trial date set last week for the remaining defendants in the FIFA corruption probe under way in the U.S. was vacated just a few days later by the American federal court judge hearing the case.
Three BVI police officers charged in Baines-led probe
A corruption investigation in the British Virgin Islands led by Royal Cayman Islands Police Commissioner David Baines put three BVI-based officers in court Tuesday.
Bill would remake Anti-Corruption Commission
A new proposal to remake the Anti-Corruption Commission would mandate that all five members of the commission be appointed by the governor, and remove the police commissioner, the auditor general and the complaints commissioner.
Auditors: Finance Law change opens door to corruption
The Cayman Islands Government recently approved a subtle change in the territory’s finance law that will leave the door open for “abuse and corruption at the very highest levels,” representatives of the Auditor General’s Office said last week.
Details of ministers’ meeting with CarePay witness revealed
Former Health Services Authority Chief Information Officer Dale Sanders said Tuesday that he did not accept any reward or contract from Cayman Islands government ministers as a result of a private meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2013.
Community service ordered for attempted bribe
The first civilian to be convicted of an offense under Cayman’s Anti-Corruption Law was sentenced on Wednesday to perform 100 hours of community service.
Football firm linked to FIFA probe, Watson court case
A Pakistan-based football products manufacturing company has been linked in legal documents to the ongoing FIFA corruption and bribery probe in the United States.
EDITORIAL – The verdict on the verdict: A good start
The conviction of former Health Services Authority chairman Canover Watson for fraud and breach of trust answers one question about the public hospital system’s CarePay scheme, but raises a legion of others about corruption, complicity, indifference and incompetence in the highest levels of the Cayman Islands officialdom.
CarePay trial: Watson begins serving sentence
Convicted fraudster Canover Watson, 45, began serving his seven-year prison sentence Friday on charges of conspiracy to defraud, fraud on the government, breach of trust and conflict of interest following a Grand Court verdict in the CarePay trial.
Rahn: Double standards and distrust of officialdom
A major reason for the growing distrust of government is the double standard whereby government officials and employees often suffer no consequences from incompetence, misbehavior and even criminal violations of the law.
