ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday May 28, 2015 High of 85 Low of 75 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. 1 SPECIALFEATURE CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 28, 2015 “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ELEANOR ROOSEVELT 2015 SpEcIAL fEATurE Graduation 2015 Editorial | pagE 4 The Webb arresT: dealing WiTh The repuTaTional fallouT HomeOptions Shop around and pay less for more insurance! $250 gift certificate can be used to purchase BritCay motor insurance Home Insurance with BritCay offers convenient, interest-free monthly payments, flexible cover, fast claims, competitive premiums and deductibles. Ask for a quote. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky $250* CERTIFICATE WITH BUILDINGS INSURANCE *applies to new buildings policies Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb indicted in massive fifa corruption probe Fourteen face charges for racketeering, bribery brenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A 47-count U.S. federal court indict- ment issued Wednesday allege that FIFA Vice President and Cayman Islands resi- dent Jeffrey Webb took part, along with at least eight other current or former FIFA of- ficials, in a corruption and racketeering scheme that spanned 25 years. The ultimate goal of the corrupt practices, according to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, was to ensure certain sports marketing and promotions companies received the commercial marketing and media rights to international football tournaments, including the World Cup. In exchange, mil- lions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks were paid to FIFA officials, the indictment alleges. “This really is the World Cup of fraud and today we are issuing FIFA a red card,” said Richard Weber, chief of criminal investiga- tions for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, one of a number of international agencies involved in the investigation. Seven FIFA officials, including Webb, were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, just before the organization’s annual meeting, federal pros- ecutors confirmed. At press time Wednesday, six of the seven defendants indicated they would oppose extradition to the U.S. A total of 14 people have been charged in connection with the scheme, including nine current or former FIFA officials and five inter- national businessmen. In addition, another 25 unnamed “co-conspirators” were listed in the charges, some of whom have already pleaded guilty in connection with the criminal racke- teering scheme. FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter was not one of those arrested and he was not named in U.S. federal court charges Wednesday. FIFA, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, is world foot- ball’s governing body. According to a statement by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch: “Two generations of soccer officials abused their positions of trust A twisted web of bribes And money lAundering Charles dunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Federal law enforcement officials in the United States have been investigating FIFA corrup- tion for years. On Wednesday, while announcing the new indictments, officials revealed they al- ready had obtained six guilty pleas for corruption and racketeering in the football governing body dating to 2013. A bribery and kickback scheme involving a media and marketing contract for the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament figured prominently in the charges against one former official who pleaded guilty, and many of those bribes ulti- mately ended up in a bank account in Cayman at Barclays Bank, later taken over by FirstCaribbean International Bank. The criminal charges, and subsequent guilty pleas, were kept under seal until Wednesday. In July 2013, Daryll Warner, son of Jack Warner who is named as a defendant in the most recent case, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and hiding money; in October 2013, Daryan Warner pleaded guilty to three counts, including money laun- dering and wire fraud; in November of that year, Charles Blazer, former CONCACAF general secre- tary, pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including rack- eteering and money laundering. More than a year later, in December 2014, Brazilian Jose Hawilla pleaded guilty to similar charges. Earlier this month, Hawilla’s two sports marketing companies FIFA’s powerful world shaken by US indictments, arrests Known as the beautiful game for the on-field spectacle, soccer has operated for decades under an ugly cloud of allegations re- lated to match-fixing in profes- sional leagues and bribery in connection with the hosting of the sport’s premier competition, the World Cup. At the center of soccer’s im- mense global influence sits Federation Internationale de Football Association, better known as FIFA, the Swiss- based organization that serves as the umbrella governing body for the sport. Wednesday’s revelations – a 47-count indictment brought by the U.S. Justice Department, ar- rests of executives gathered in Zurich for annual meetings and a raid of affiliated offices in Miami – shook FIFA like no in- ternal or independent investiga- tion before it. The charges were by far the most powerful strike against FIFA – and perhaps a water- shed moment for the governing body of the world’s most pop- ular sport – and intensified calls for reform to an organiza- tion that has long drawn fans’ ire over corrupt leaders and a CAymAn reACts: shoCk, sympAthy And silenCe PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » JaMes WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Allegations that FIFA vice president and Cayman Islands resident Jeff Webb took millions of dollars in bribes were met with a mix of silence and sympathy by senior politicians and soccer of- ficials in the territory. Webb was one of several FIFA officials arrested in a dawn raid at a Swiss hotel on Wednesday morning as U.S. prosecutors revealed allegations of a “rampant, systemic and deep rooted” kickback scheme in international football’s governing body, which they described as the “World Cup of fraud.” Premier Alden McLaughlin said he was aware of the allegations and was monitoring media reports but could not comment on what he described as a “developing story and an ongoing investigation.” PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Jeffrey Webb: Taken into custody Wednesday in Zurich, Switzerland. - photo: CAymAn CompAss2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Thursday May 28, 2015 • Cayman Compass www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - $8.00 TOMORROWLAND (PG) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:00 I 9:55 PITCH PERFECT 2 (PG13) 1:10 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 9:50 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D (PG13) 12:30 I 3:35 2D I 6:40 I 9:45 2D GOOD KILL (R) 1:30 I 4:30 I 7:20 I 10:10 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 3D (R) 1:20 I 4:20 2D I 7:10 I 10:00 2D HOT PURSUIT (PG13) 12:40 I 2:50 I 5:00 I 7:30 I 10:05 Sentence increases for ganja in prison Second conviction could add six months to inmate’s term CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Possession of ganja by someone in prison is being punished with a consecutive sentence to whatever term the defendant is serving, but Magistrate Valdis Foldats this week announced his sen- tencing policy for a second conviction of someone with ganja in custody. He was hearing details in the case of Cleve Borden, 28, who pleaded guilty to possession of 162 grams (about 5.7 ounces). Crown counsel Candia James said the offense oc- curred on Oct. 11, 2014, when guards conducted a cell search at Northward Prison. A plastic bag was recovered from under the mattress in the upper bunk. The bag con- tained two packages, the con- tents of which were later tested and shown to be ganja. Ms. James said Borden and his cellmate were both charged. However, because of the location of the package, the charge against the other man was subsequently with- drawn. That man has since been released on completion of his sentence. The magistrate noted that he had sentenced Borden in April 2014 to 30 days consec- utive for possession of ganja. He pointed out that he had given the defendant a warning that any further similar of- fending would be met with a longer consecutive sentence. “You didn’t heed the warning,” he told Borden. The defendant ac- cepted that fact, but told the court he had “stopped smoking” in December. The magistrate asked, “If you were tested right now, would you be clean?” “Yes, sir,” Borden replied. The magistrate immedi- ately ordered a drug test and a court marshal subsequently confirmed that Borden was clean. “I want to focus on what you’ve done right, because you’re a smart young man who has decided he doesn’t want to be in jail any more. That was an enormous step,” the magistrate told Borden. He said he had to warn him again – that if he got caught with ganja a third time, the sentence would be even longer. “We have to send a message not only to you but to everyone else in jail,” the magistrate pointed out. He said drugs in prison interfere with discipline and good order. Hearing that Borden ex- pected to complete a four-year sentence for drugs in April 2016, the magistrate urged him to focus on a release plan and stay very strong. He said the starting point for a second conviction for ganja in prison would be six months consecutive. But he could give Borden credit for coming clean. “You did everything you’re sup- posed to do,” the magistrate said, “so I can adjust the sen- tence down to four months.” Then he gave further credit for the guilty plea, arriving at a final figure of three months, which will be consecutive to whatever sentences Borden is now serving. The ganja was ordered to be destroyed. Trial set for officers accused of taser assault CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two police officers ac- cused of common as- sault involving a taser en- tered pleas of not guilty on Wednesday. Their trial was set for Jan. 20-21, 2016. Austin Etienne, 44, and Cardiff Ainsworth Robinson, 29, are charged with assault following an incident in East End on May 3, 2014, in which they allegedly used a taser on a man in their custody. When the matter was last before the court, at- torneys Dennis Brady and Natasha Bodden said they were seeking additional in- formation from the Crown which they needed to con- duct the defense. This week Mr. Brady, who acts for Robinson, told Magistrate Philippa McFarlane that the material requested had not been forthcoming. He said it seemed they would have to obtain the information on their own, which meant more time would be needed to research the matter properly. Mr. Brady noted that one witness was no longer with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, so that added to the attorneys’ dilemma. He asked the court to set a date for arguments on the issue of disclo- sure. The magistrate set Thursday, July 2. The trial was expected to take two days and was therefore set for Jan. 20 and 21, 2016. After the men’s first court appearance ear- lier this year, the Cayman Compass reported that they had been placed on desk duty pending the outcome of the case. Demand for foster parents growing in Cayman JEWEL LEvy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Department of Children and Family Services will host a foster parent orientation dinner on May 28 at Grand Old House for those considering becoming foster parents. The meeting, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., will outline the de- partment’s foster parenting program, along with the qualifications necessary to become a foster parent. Foster parents are needed in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac to ensure that children are not displaced from their communities, said Nicole Carter, the depart- ment’s adoption and foster care coordinator. In particular, there is a need for foster parents who can take in sibling groups, children with special needs and teenagers, she said. Foster care provides chil- dren with an alternative home where they can feel safe, valued, respected and cared for. Foster families are needed for children ranging in age from birth to 18 years. There are different types of care that foster parents can pro- vide, including respite care, emergency foster care, short- term and long-term care. Ms. Carter said times have changed, impacting the tra- ditional nuclear family and increasing the demand for foster care. “Cayman of old had a cul- ture of caring for the family and the extended community. People knew their neighbors and believed in being one’s keeper. As we become more ‘advanced,’ we are losing this community spirit and becoming more individual- ized and living in our own bubble,” she said. “Who should parents turn to when they cannot cope? It is the children who are suf- fering.” A person can become a foster parent if he or she is over age 18 and younger than 65, regardless of religious, cultural or ethnic back- ground or marital status or immigration status. Those with a disability or medical condition can be- come a foster parent, pro- viding it does not affect their ability to care for a child. Foster parents should enjoy caring for children, have no police record and be avail- able to meet with the people involved in the child’s life. “Children and young people in foster care need a lot of things like security, love, patience, kindness, honesty, openness, tolerance and un- derstanding,” Ms. Carter said. “You could be a role model, you could help them grow up to be responsible adults, living their lives to the fullest, showing them how to meet and cope with the challenges that face all of us at different stages in our lives.” Fostering is generally for a limited period – perhaps a few days, a week, a month or a year or more. “No matter how brief the encounter, the reward is in knowing you made a differ- ence,” she said. For more information, contact the Fostering Unit at 949-0290. Travel company in court for health insurance Charge not put to co-owner in her personal capacity CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Tc Fahrenheit Ltd, trading as 123 Travel, had a guilty plea entered on the company’s behalf on Tuesday. The charge admitted to was failing to effect and continue a standard health insurance contract for an employee and dependent between Aug. 16, 2013 and Jan. 6, 2014. Defense attorney Crister Brady pointed out that the co-owner of Tc Fahrenheit, Theresa Chin, was person- ally charged with the same offense, so it seemed like a duplicate charge. Magistrate Valdis Foldats said the way the law was written al- lowed both a company and a company’s director to be charged. After the guilty plea was entered on behalf of the company, Mr. Brady asked that the charge not be put to his client in her personal capacity. He indicated he would be asking the Crown to re- view the matter. The case was set for mention again on June 11. Foster care provides children with an alternative home where they can feel safe, valued, respected and cared for. Journalist who denounced drug trafficking murdered SAO PAULO (AP) — A radio journalist known for de- nouncing drug traffickers and organized crime groups was murdered in northeastern Brazil, police said Wednesday. Three men armed with machine guns and pis- tols killed Djalma Santos da Conceicao Saturday night in the small town of Conceicao da Feira in the state of Bahia, police in- spector Gustavo Coutinho said by telephone He said the gunmen barged into a small bar where the journalist was taking part in a party and “abducted, tor- tured and murdered” him be- fore dumping his body in a rural zone outside the town.3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday May 28, 2015 Agreement allows for new special economic zones Updated definitive agreement gives greater flexibility MichAel Klein mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com Government has renegoti- ated its definitive agreement with Cayman Enterprise City, paving the way for new tech- nology-based activities in the special economic zone and projects such as Tech City, a proposed IT park associated with the developers of Health City Cayman Islands. The amended and restated definitive agreement “gives government much greater flexibility which it did not have before in considering new technology-based pro- posals which may benefit the country greatly,” said Wayne Panton, minister of financial services and commerce. “The new agreement ac- complishes this by pre- serving CEC’s competitive advantage in terms of legis- lation concessions which had previously been given.” Charlie Kirkconnell, chief executive of Cayman Enterprise City, said the pri- mary goal of the amendment of the agreement was the in- troduction of the Cayman Maritime Services Park and the update of the Cayman Biotechnology Park, which has now become the Cayman Science and Technology Park. The initial agreement was very narrowly focused on biotechnology, and the rigid description of the activities allowed in the park effec- tively restricted the ability of the Special Economic Zone Authority to grant licenses. “As a knowledge and technology-focused spe- cial economic zone, we felt there was a gap in the types of technology companies that we could license,” Mr. Kirkconnell said. He added that CEC is seeing significant interest from cutting-edge technology companies that do not fit into either the biotech or IT cat- egories, and the amendment therefore allows a broader scope for the licensing of technology companies. During the budget de- bate on Monday, Minister Panton thanked the owners and management of Cayman Enterprise City for engaging in the negotiations and agreeing to the changes. He also criticized the orig- inal definitive agreement with CEC, signed by oppo- sition leader McKeeva Bush during his time as premier, saying the contract would not have allowed govern- ment to talk to other poten- tial zone operators. “In all my years as a prac- ticing commercial lawyer, I have never seen such a lop- sided agreement that had been signed originally. It re- moved all flexibility from government. It even provided that government simply en- gaging in discussions with a potential party carrying out similar business to CEC was a breach of the agreement by government,” he said. “On the other hand, the agreement contained abso- lutely no provisions to hold CEC accountable if there was a breach of the agree- ment on their part. There were no performance met- rics or obligations which they were required to comply with. In fact, the agreement did not even contain an ex- press termination provision, no matter how egregious the failure by either party,” Mr. Panton added. Performance metrics The new agreement in- cludes performance met- rics and places obligations on Cayman Enterprise City in particular concerning the newly created Maritime Services Park operated by CEC. The performance met- rics relate to the number of companies operating in the park, as well as to the number of staff they employ. Other performance obliga- tions relate to the develop- ment of the CEC campus, Mr. Kirkconnell confirmed. Minister Panton said it was “particularly offensive” that the original agreement required Caymanian technology busi- nesses that seek government concessions to effectively op- erate from within CEC. “That is not something that government could ac- cept as appropriate going forward.” However, all of these issues had now been addressed. Tech City The new agreement also allows other special eco- nomic zone operators to enter the market. However, this would not have been possible under the agreement signed by Mr. Bush, Minister Panton said. “I find it quite ironic that the leader of the opposi- tion has spent some time in his debate talking about the proposal of Tech City, which he described as being affiliated with the Shetty Hospital project. He encour- aged the support of that, but he did so seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that what he was pro- posing would not have been possible under the original definitive CEC agreement.” “Notwithstanding this,” Mr. Panton added, “the Tech City [project] that has been discussed and described is certainly one that can be considered and supported by government as a re- sult of the amendments to the agreement.” CEC is seeing significant interest from cutting-edge technology companies that do not fit into either the biotech or IT categories. Mr. KirkconnellMr. PantonThe islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” The Webb arrest: Dealing with the reputational fallout Since becoming an offshore financial center in the 1960s, the Cayman Islands has suffered severe reputa- tional setbacks because of proven, alleged, or fictional criminal conduct. There was the failure of Sterling Bank and Trust and the rest of Jean Doucet’s banking empire in the Cayman Islands in 1974; there was the 1991 collapse of BCCI and its international network of banks being used to launder drug money; and there were the scandals involving Enron (2001) and Parmalat (2003), both of which used Cayman Islands companies to conceal their nefarious activities. Then of course there was the 1993 movie “The Firm,” which portrayed the Cayman Islands as a money laundering haven. The fictional Hollywood per- ceptions have lingered, and the Cayman Islands has become synonymous in film and fiction with offshore financial shenanigans. Now, with the arrest in Switzerland of Caymanian Jeffrey Webb and six others on corruption and rack- eteering charges on FIFA-related matters, the Cayman Islands faces reputational damage which may exceed anything the country has experienced to date. For the record, according to the 47-count indict- ment, FIFA officials, including Mr. Webb, used their positions to solicit more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments. We should point out that Mr. Webb and his col- leagues are, at this point, only accused of wrongdoing. If they are successfully extradited, they will face trial for their alleged crimes in the United States. But regardless of the outcome of that trial, the damage done to the reputation of the Cayman Islands has already begun. Almost instantaneously, news of Mr. Webb’s arrest in a dawn raid at a posh hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, appeared in more than 3,000 stories on the Internet. Non-stop coverage on the world’s leading television networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC, and the BBC, highlighted Mr. Webb’s role and prominently identified him with the Cayman Islands. Likewise, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and literally hundreds of other newspapers are leading the news with the scandal. The Cayman Compass has already been contacted by multiple international news organizations seeking photos and background informa- tion on Mr. Webb. At a Wednesday morning press conference convened by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and televised around the world, Mr. Webb took top billing. Precisely because football is the world’s sport, the eyes of the entire world are on this scandal and, to some degree, on the Cayman Islands. Unlike the cases of BCCI, Enron and Parmalat, which were of interest primarily to those in international finance, the FIFA scandal has far greater interest. As president of CONCACAF, vice president of FIFA, and, locally, as president of the Cayman Islands Football Association, there is no doubt that Jeff Webb has brought much attention (up to this point favorable) and considerable largesse to the Cayman Islands. Now that his name and nationality have been asso- ciated with high-level corruption and racketeering charges involving the world’s most popular sport, there is no doubt that the Cayman Islands, unfair though it may be, will pay a considerable reputational price as this legal battle continues to unfold. Thursday May 28, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Death of genius John Nash and his beautiful ideas Noah Smith The world will be a poorer place without John Nash, one of the pioneers of game theory, who died Saturday at 86 in a car crash along with his wife. Most Nash retrospectives (and the movie about him) focus considerable attention on his mental illness, but I think this is overdone. We should cel- ebrate people’s ideas, not ob- sess over their personal strug- gles. And Nash’s ideas were in a class of their own. We think of Nash as an economist, because he won the Nobel Prize in economics (in 1994). But, like people at the very top of many quantitative fields, he thought of himself as a mathematician. Nash’s fatal car crash came just as he was returning from receiving the Abel Prize, a prestigious math award, for solving a thorny ge- ometry problem back in the 1950s. Economics was just one more target for Nash’s mathe- matical brilliance. Nash actually invented several things in economics. His first major foray was the theory of Nash bargaining, which is really just a method of bargaining that satisfies some intuitive conditions of fairness. The basic result is that a “fair” bargain is one where both parties benefit equally from accepting the deal. Nash figured out the math of this result in a paper for a college class, and his so- lution is still used in many ap- plications to this day. For ex- ample, Nash bargaining is the method that labor econo- mists often assume is used to split the “surplus” that results when an employer and an em- ployee find each other. But as Rotman School of Management economist Kevin Bryan points out on his blog, Nash bargaining isn’t very re- alistic. In the real world, bar- gains aren’t fair – they depend on things such as outside op- tions and threats. To find out what really happens in bar- gaining and many other com- petitive situations, you need to use Nash’s truly monumental contribution: game theory. When two or more people play a game, what will they do? Game theory is meant to answer that question. It actu- ally existed before Nash, but Nash developed a concept to select from among all the dif- ferent possible game outcomes. This is known as the Nash equilibrium. It’s actually pretty simple to explain – it means a situation in which everyone is making their best choice, given the choices of the other players in the game. That choice could include randomization, e.g. if I decide to randomly rock, paper and scissors one-third of the time in a game of rock-paper- scissors. When there’s a Nash equilibrium, it means that ev- eryone is making their best response to what the other people in the game are doing. That concept turned most of economics on its head. Before Nash, the dominant idea of “equilibrium” in economics was the Walrasian equilibrium. It was sort of a Panglossian idea – everything that people want to sell gets bought, and markets are efficient – no money gets left on the table, so to speak. But in Nash equilibrium, you can get outcomes that are far darker – for example, in the Prisoners’ Dilemma, where two rational prisoners will always betray each other, leading to a worse outcome for both than if they had both kept silent. When you go from Walrasian equilibrium to Nash equilibrium, you get all kinds of non-optimal economic out- comes. You can get markets that break down completely, because no one can trust their counter parties. You can get compa- nies hurting the economy by competing with each other too much. Suddenly, you go from a perfect free-market paradise to an uncertain, confusing thicket of potentially destructive com- petition. Economists before Nash had created a few isolated models of strategic interaction, but Nash created a system. The game theory concepts that Nash’s math brought to the field were a true par- adigm shift in economics. Macroeconomists, who con- tinue to use the old Walrasian notion of equilibrium typi- cally engage in hand-waving about how the macroeconomy is too big for strategic inter- actions to matter. But most of the economics profession has gradually shifted toward Nash equilibrium. The 2014 Nobel winner, Jean Tirole, is emblem- atic of the new economics. And many of the biggest suc- cesses in applied economics, like the auctions that power Google’s advertising, rely on Nash’s technique. Of course, Nash’s concept of game theory is probably not the end of the story. For Nash equilibrium to give reliably good predictions, you probably need common knowledge of ra- tionality – that’s when I know you’re rational, and you know I know, and I know you know I know, and so on. That is a pretty strict condition. That is probably a good approximation for companies bidding over Google ad space, but in some situations people may suspect that others are irrational. For those situations, it may help to go beyond Nash equilibrium, and economic theorists are now working on these extensions. But in the end, economics will be John Nash’s field. We owe him as much as we owe Adam Smith. Not bad for a guy who probably wouldn’t even have called himself an economist! Noah Smith is an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University and a freelance writer for finance and business publications. © 2015, Bloomberg News from caymaNcompaSS.com “Can ‘lone wolves’ do much more than howl?” May 27 On the contrary, The independents can provide useful checks and balances. Not being forced to toe the party line, they can vote with their conscience. Where the government has a big majority, be they party or not, they are simply an opposition MLA with little real power either way, but let’s consider a hung parliament with 18 MLAs, seven from each party and four independents, votes will be decided by the majority decision of those four, with the freedom to align with whichever party is making the most sense at the time. andy Gray I certainly agree that lone wolves – independent representatives – may only get to howl and they could find themselves at the top of the endangered species list, if a one party was to gain dominance in the one man, one vote system. This is a very tricky situation, which many voters have not thought about. That is one of the prime reasons you need to be very mindful whether the one man, one vote will be a benefit to your district constituency. Twyla Vargas “Residency application tests under way,” May 27 There are two basic sta- tistical principles required for any predictive test: re- liability and validity. This test predicts nothing other than reading and memory skills. It will have abso- lutely no predictive value in identifying who will actually acculturate in Caymanian society. Curtis Kraijceck When I first heard about the test and its very tough questions I looked up the test that potential U.S. citi- zens must pass. You are given a book with all the answers. Here is a sample of the questions: What ocean is on the west side of the USA? What country is to the north of the USA? What is the name of the current President? I scored 100% without even looking at the book. And of course this is a citizenship test. There are no tests for permanent resi- dence in the USA. Certainly it is important that anyone who applies to live here full time should have a basic understanding of our history, geography and political system. But I can’t see how knowing the name of some long dead fid- dler is relevant. norman Linton “Civil servants balk at healthcare co- pays,” May 27 Of course they will balk at paying a co-pay when they are all used to it being free. The statement about it being fair caught my eye as well. I guess it’s fair that they get free healthcare when every other taxpayer has to pay for heathcare as well as con- tribute to the cost of heath- care for the civil service. He made it clear that this is something the civil service is not willing to do in his com- ment, “the civil service will not be taxed to further sub- sidize the health system uti- lized by the entire country.” Now how fair is that? michael Davis5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday May 28, 2015 The Camelot Auction Sponsored by: Friday 29th May 2015 @ The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Cocktail hour from 6:30pm – 7:30pm Dress code Black Tie or Theme Oriented RSVP: krissieford@gmail.com With an array of international entertainers, from all over the globe, you don’t want to miss this. Be there to experience an amazing and incredible fun event. For more information call 928-9723. The Rotary Club Of Grand Cayman Presents Grand Cayman’s number one premier charity auction and dinner Human Rights Commission says minimum wage too low CHaRles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Reviewing the new recom- mendations on a minimum wage for Cayman, Human Rights Commission members said the $6 an hour proposal is too conservative and called on future reviews to take a “more generous” approach to setting the wage. Commissioners commended the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee for tackling issues of labor abuse and lack of pro- tections for Cayman’s lowest paid employees, especially do- mestic workers. The Minimum Wage Advisory Committee released its report in February after almost a year of studying Cayman’s lowest paid workers. The committee rec- ommended a $6 an hour min- imum wage and carved out employees making tips or other benefits, such as room and board, setting a $4.50 minimum wage for waiters, bartenders, live-in domestic workers and others. “The Commission under- stands the extent of analysis the Committee undertook during this exercise, how- ever, it is regrettable that the Committee chose to ‘err on the side of caution by starting at a conservative rate’ for the minimum wage,” Human Rights Commission members said in an email statement re- sponding to questions from the Cayman Compass. Wage committee chair Lemuel Hurlston, in an ear- lier interview, said setting the rate was a “question of ar- riving at a fair balance.” He said that balance was be- tween impacts on employers and economic impacts versus protecting Cayman’s most vulnerable workers. A big part of the commit- tee’s recommendations, Mr. Hurlston said, is an annual staff review and full review by the committee every four years. The Human Rights Commissioners said, “It is to be hoped that in any future reviews the Committee will take a more generous (or at least neutral) approach to as- sessing the minimum wage.” Worker abuse While studying Cayman’s lowest-paid workers, wage committee members came across numerous examples of abuse, particularly in homes employing nannies and do- mestics. The report details allegations of physical, emo- tional and sexual abuse of domestic workers, who earn an average of $4 an hour. Nicolas Joseph, an at- torney and co-chair for the wage committee, said he was not surprised to hear the abuse accusations. Cayman has what he called “wide- spread noncompliance” with labor laws, estimating that only 10 percent to 30 percent of household employers fully comply with the law. Commissioners said they were “extremely concerned” about the allegations of abuse in the report. Commission members acknowledged their limited power to investi- gate crimes, but they said “it does have the ability, in ap- propriate cases, to address complaints whilst preserving victims’ anonymity and will do so in cases of domestic worker abuse and exploita- tion if necessary.” Commission members said, “Effective remedies must be provided by the Cayman Islands Government to safeguard the rights of those persons identified as vulnerable.” The Human Rights Commission called on government to put more re- sources into educating em- ployers, and investigating and prosecuting cases of worker abuse. “Only by effective enforce- ment action can victims of ex- ploitation have confidence in the systems and law in place such that they feel able to make complaints to the au- thorities,” commissioners said. Church fun day to raise money for youth trip Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com An Ulta-Mega-Mission- Extravaganza event for youths is being staged Saturday on Pedro Castle Road by the Cayman Islands Baptist Church. The event, to raise money for mission trips to Orlando, Florida and to Cuba this summer, runs from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. “The high school youths are raising the funds to- ward their X-Fuge On Mission trip on July 6-10 to Orlando, Florida, and the young adult group for a mission trip to Cuba,” said the church’s associate pastor, Mike Irby. While in Florida, he said, the youths will assist with children’s ministries in the Orlando area as well as enjoy Bible studies and group wor- ship, and in Cuba with the sports ministries. “These are great oppor- tunities to impact young people’s lives that can make a difference in building a “Community of Christ’s Love” here in the Cayman Islands. It is our hope that these young people will re- turn with a vision to help and serve others at home,” said Pastor Irby. Among the day’s activ- ities are a free car wash by sponsors; a silent auc- tion and garage sale; a prayer station; food; and a free bouncy castle under adult supervision.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community Calendar ■ Community Calendar is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. Thursday May 28, 2015 • Cayman Compass THURSDAY, MAY 28 DIABETES SEMINAR: All are invited to a seminar hosted by the Cayman Islands Diabetes Association, 6 p.m. at the Seafarers’ Hall on Victory Avenue. Reduce your numbers or just know the numbers. Understand why foot care is so important or just know how best to care for your feet. Get some idea on proper nutrition. RELEVANCE OF CHRISTIANITY: All are invited to a public lecture on “The Relevance of Christianity in a Post-Christian World.” Elmslie Memorial Church Hall, 5:30 p.m. Opportunity for discussion. The lecture will be given by the Rev. Dr. Garnett Roper, seminary president, community activist, author, talk show host and newspaper columnist. This is a free event and refreshments will be served. GRAND COURT JURORS: The Grand Court jurors’ report date has been changed. Jurors in the April-June session are now to report today at 9:45 a.m. Call Jury Information at 945-5072 for the most up-to-date information. DISTRICT COUNCIL MEETING: The North Side District Council meets at 8 p.m. in the Civic Centre. All are invited. Agenda includes update on the budget for the district, fundraising, the Jerry Whittaker Classic Fishing Tournament, back to work initiatives and updates from MLA Ezzard Miller. PHOTOGRAPHY PANEL DISCUSSION: Photography subject vs. content, plus composition. National Gallery Education Centre. 6-7:30 p.m. Panel chaired by Jaime Hahn, with guest photographers. Admission $5 for non-members; free for members. Refreshments will be served. FRIDAY, MAY 29 PROUD OF THEM: Today is the deadline to nominate a young person for this honor. Nominees should be any young person aged 10 to 25 years, who stand out in academics, sports, career, culture, business or community service. For entry forms visit http://goo. gl/forms/nPhz5Ber6L QUIT SMOKING: The Public Health Department urges smokers who wish to quit the habit to sign up for smoking cessation classes. Today is the deadline to register. Classes, which start June 3, are from 5:15-6:45 p.m. every Wednesday for seven weeks. Public Health Waiting Room. For more info or to sign up, contact 244-2889, 244-2648 or sarah.hetley@hsa.ky. PROPOSALS FOR ESTABLISHING CORAL NURSERIES: The Department of Environment invites proposals from those interested in establishing coral nurseries. Following Cabinet’s approval of a policy for managing coral nurseries, the department is accepting proposals through May 29, with projects to commence in October 2015 or later. Proposals should be for establishing nurseries for Acropora corals and eventual outplanting on Cayman’s reefs. Proposals or requests for information may be submitted to DoE@gov.ky. SATURDAY, MAY 30 THRIFT SHOP SALE: St. George’s Anglican Church holds a bargain sale 7-11 a.m. in the church hall. Off Eastern Avenue, behind Cox Lumber. MOTHERS UNION TEA PARTY: The St. George’s Anglican Church Mothers’ Union invites everyone to the annual Tea Party Delight from 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Venue is St. George’s Church Hall, 64 Courts Road, off Eastern Avenue. FUNDRAISER FAMILY EVENT: Youth and young adults of Cayman Islands Baptist Church are holding a Fundraiser Family Event to support summer missions. Activities include garage sale, dinner sale, car-wash- a-thon, prayer station, silent auction. From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pedro Castle Road, Savannah. For more information, contact Pastor Mike at 946-2422. WORSHIP GATHERING: Marriott resort, 6 p.m. Worship, dance and arts from ministries throughout the island and abroad. Tickets available from Funky Tang’s, Christian Enlightenment Centre, Corner restaurant or 926-4228. Cost is $10 adults, children under 12, free. Contact info@ HarvestFellowshipCayman. com. SELLING ART: Visual arts Society offers a half-day workshop on how to sell artwork. $25 members, $35 non-members. Contact 546- 9422 or visualartcayman@ yahoo.com. HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: Representatives of Hazard Management Cayman Islands will be on hand at A.L. Thompson’s this morning and Progressive Distributors this afternoon to meet with residents, answer questions and hand out disaster awareness information. Residents are encouraged to visit the stores and enter a drawing to win preparedness kits. CAYWRITERS: Anyone interested in writing is invited to join other local writers who share their journeys, stories and writing resources, ask advice and discuss challenges. Group meets last Saturday of the month. New members welcome. From 5:30-6:30 p.m. Books & Books. SUNDAY, MAY 31 CHILDREN’S DAY SERVICE: Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church invites everyone to the Children’s Day Service at 11 a.m. NATIONAL GALLERY INTERNS: The National Gallery is accepting applications for the 2015/16 yearlong NGCI Deutsche Bank Internship. Today is the deadline to apply. For application forms, visit www. nationalgallery.org.ky and for additional information call 945-8111 or email education@ nationalgallery.org.ky. THURSDAY, JUNE 4 PAINTING OPEN STUDIO: The Visual Arts Society holds sessions at Watler House Studio, Pedro Castle grounds, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Artists are free to work on their own or take guidance from a qualified instructor. Today, June 11, 18, 25. $25 per session for members; $35 non-members. Sessions with no instructor, 1 - 4 p.m., $10 members; $15 non- members. Contact 546-9422 or visualartcayman@yahoo. com FRIDAY, JUNE 5 BRAC RUNDOWN: The Cayman National Cultural Foundation takes Rundown to the Aston Rutty Centre. Doors open 7 p.m. Showtime, 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and seniors. SATURDAY, JUNE 6 LITTLE LEAGUE: Little League annual fundraiser, 6 p.m. $10,000 grand prize. $10 tickets available from players, parents, outside supermarkets, and at the Field of Dreams. Phone 916- 5643 for further details. SUNDAY, JUNE 7 CERAMIC OPEN STUDIO: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Watler House Studio, Pedro Castle grounds. Visual Arts Society members, $15; non-members $25. Clay, materials, glazes and firing facilities are available. Cpontact visualartcayman@ yahoo.com EVANGELISTIC SERVICES: John Gray Memorial Church, West Bay, invites everyone to services today and Sundays through June, 10 a.m. Friday, June 12, is Youth Night, 7 p.m. Guest speaker is Rt. Reverend Christopher Mason, moderator, United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. GENERAL INTEREST MOSQUITO SPRAYING: Mosquito Research & Control Unit is conducting aerial operations over mosquito-breeding swamp areas on Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands. These operations involve low-level flights during the mornings and late afternoons. More information and schedules can be found on the MRCU Facebook page. For any inquiries, call 949-2557. YOUNG IMAGE MAKERS: The Short Film Competition is in its final stages. Films of 15 finalists have been uploaded to www.youtube. com/caymanculture for the public to pick a favorite. The deadline to vote is June 5 at 4 p.m. PRESCHOOL FUNDING: The Ministry of Education offers funding to assist eligible young Caymanian children to attend an early childhood center (preschool). Application forms are available at the Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue, at the Department of Education Services on Thomas Russell Way, and from early childhood center directors/operators. For further information, call 244-5735 or contact turnette.stewart@gov. ky or renee.barnes@gov. ky HIV TESTING: Free HIV testing is available every Tuesday year-round at the Cayman Islands Red Cross on Thomas Russell Way. Anyone wishing to get tested should arrive by 9 a.m. Testing will be available every Tuesday, 9-10 a.m. Contact HIV/AIDS Coordinator Laura Whitfield at 244-2631. REEF RESTORATION: Certified divers are invited to work on the Cayman Magic Reef restoration in George Town. A schedule of work dates and times is posted on Facebook under Cayman Magic Reef Recovery. Dates, times and places are listed under Events, for volunteers to check and sign up. FOOD HANDLERS: Certification courses in basic food hygiene are offered by the Department of Environmental Health June 10 and 24; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DEH conference room in the Environmental Centre, 580 North Sound Road. $15 per person covers all materials and fees; pay at DEH headquarters, 580 North Sound Road, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Call 949-6696. MUSEUM TOURS: The National Museum provides guided tours for students and school groups free of cost. Students will gain an understanding of Cayman’s geological formation, flora and fauna, seafaring and rope-making heritage, political history and more. Contact the museum to book a tour in advance at 949-8368 or email info@ museum.ky. ART FOR STUDENTS: The National Gallery hosts free Active Learning Sessions for students of all ages. Part tour, part art activity, the tour takes students up-close with the National Collection – more than 50 years of Caymanian art history – providing links to literacy, mathematics, social studies and science. For information or to book a session, contact 945-8111 or education@nationalgallery. org.ky. FREE GALLERY TOURS: Free guided tours of the temporary exhibition “Plastic In paradise: Scenes of Real Life Fictions” by Heidi Bassett Blair are available for students of all ages at the National Gallery. Students will discuss the exhibition and get hands-on art activities that incorporate literacy and numeracy. Tours run until July 3. For information or to book a tour, contact 945-8111 or education@ nationalgallery.org.ky. SCHOOL REGISTRATION: Registration of students enrolling in or transferring to government schools for the 2015/2016 school year is open through June 26 at the Department of Education Services and the Cayman Brac Teachers Centre. Registration forms available at government schools, the Department of Education Services at 130 Thomas Russell Way, George Town, or the Brac Teachers Centre. Registration for reception classes is open for qualifying children who are age 4 before Sept. 1. GRANTS FOR THE ARTS: Registration is open for grants from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation for art-related projects that need some financial help. CNCF hands out grants twice a year. Visit www. artscayman.org/grants-for- the-arts for guidelines and a registration form. Deadline is July 15. THRIFT SHOP SEEKS CLOTHING: The Humane Society Thrift Shop is desperately low on stock. Clothing, accessories, toys, small appliances, shoes, bric-a-brac and pictures are needed. Please bring donations to the Humane Society building on North Sound Road. BETHESDA COUNSELING CENTRE: At 68 Mary St. Caters to all who seek help. Call 946-6575. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. PINK LADIES: Coffee Shop at Cayman Islands Hospital is open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks. Takeout orders welcome, call 244-2661. Funds are donated back to the community. Contact pinkladiescayman@ gmail.com. ARTISANS MARKET: Camana Bay Artisans Market every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society has artists displaying arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale between noon and 8 p.m. near KARoo. For more information about being a displaying artist, contact info@visualartcayman.com or 546-9422. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.compasscayman. com/caycompass/portal/ community-calendar.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Thursday May 28, 2015 916-5453 • www.boddenpools.com Exclusive Distributors for Viking and Blue Hawaiian Swimming Pools Includes Waterline Tiles, Handrail, Pool Light, Pool Pump & Filter, Inline Chlorinator, and 1’ Cement Coping SUMMER POOL $29,999 Complete Installation & 25 Year Warranty for personal gain, frequently through an alliance with unscrupulous sports mar- keting executives who shut out competitors and kept highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the sys- tematic payment of bribes and kickbacks. “All told, the soccer offi- cials are charged with con- spiring to solicit and re- ceive well over US$150 million in bribes and kick- backs in exchange for their official support of the sports marketing execu- tives who agreed to make the unlawful payments.” An indictment in U.S. fed- eral court is merely an ac- cusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. $110 million bribe offer The largest single bribe offer – US$110 million – was allegedly made in connection with the Copa America foot- ball tournament, including a special 2016 version of the tournament – the Centenario - celebrating the 100th anni- versary of the Copa America, according to U.S. federal court records. Some US$40 million of that amount has been paid to date, federal prosecutors revealed. A sports marketing com- pany known as Datisa is al- leged to have offered the bribes in exchange for the acquisition of media rights to the Copa America and the Centenario tournaments. The indictment states those bribes were offered to defen- dants Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael Esquivel, Jose Maria Marin and Nicolas Leoz, as well as other football officials. “In connection with the negotiations between Datisa and CONCACAF [FIFA’s re- gional body governing the Caribbean, Central and North American regions]… Datisa also agreed to pay Webb a bribe in exchange for Webb’s agreement to cause CONCACAF to enter into the 2014 Centenario contract,” the criminal complaint at- tached to the 47-count indict- ment states. The Centenario tourna- ment is scheduled for June 2016 in the U.S. 2010 World Cup bribes Back in 2004, when the bidding for the 2010 World Cup was heating up be- tween three African nations, it is alleged that Caribbean football officials – including former CONCACAF president Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago – accepted monies through intermediaries and the Caribbean Football Union – from the competing nations. It is alleged that, while in Morocco in 2004, a rep- resentative of the Moroccan bid committee offered to pay Warner US$1 million “in ex- change for his agreement to cast his secret ballot on the FIFA executive committee for Morocco to host the 2010 World Cup.” Meanwhile, it was al- leged that arrangements were being made through various parties, including the South African govern- ment, to offer US$10 million to the Caribbean Football Union to “support the African diaspora.” A man identified as “co- conspirator #1” in the crim- inal complaint “under- stood the offer to be in exchange for the agreement of Warner, co-conspirator #1 [the general secretary of CONCACAF at the time] and another person identi- fied as “co-conspirator #17” to vote for South Africa in- stead of Morocco. “Warner indicated that he had accepted the offer and told co-conspirator #1 that he would give a US$1 million por- tion of the US$10 million pay- ment to co-conspirator #1,” the criminal complaint alleges. The money, according to the indictment, was wired in three separate payments from a FIFA account in Switzerland to accounts held in the names of CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union. Both accounts were controlled by Warner and he diverted some of the funds to his personal accounts, fed- eral prosecutors said. The 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa. Co-conspirator #1 never received the entire US$1 mil- lion bribe he had been prom- ised, prosecutors said. The election purchasing scheme The indictment also al- leges that an individual iden- tified as “co-conspirator #7” was seeking support for his candidacy for FIFA president in the organization’s general elections during 2011. The court records give de- tails of a two-day meeting held in May 2011 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad and Tobago involving var- ious member associations of the Caribbean Football Association where co-con- spirator #7 asked for the as- sociations’ support during the June 1, 2011 FIFA presi- dential election. After the address, Warner is alleged to have told Caribbean football associa- tion officials that they could “pick up a gift” that afternoon at a conference hotel room. “The officials were in- structed by [football union] staff members in the room to enter the room one at a time,” the criminal complaint al- leges. “Inside the room, [staff] handed each official an enve- lope bearing the name of the member association he repre- sented. Inside each envelope was US$40,000.” One of the football union representatives who attended the meeting at the Trinidad Hyatt contacted the person who then served as general secretary of CONCACAF to inform him of the payments. This angered Warner, federal prosecutors said. “Warner stated: ‘There are some people here who think they are more pious than thou. If you’re pious, open a church, friends. Our business is our business,’” according to the criminal complaint. Warner resigned from CONCACAF in July 2011, after the incident became public. Qualifying bribes After Warner’s depar- ture, Webb was installed as new CONCACAF presi- dent in May 2012. In ad- dition, the organization’s general secretary resigned and was replaced. “The change in admin- istration at CONCACAF…. did not usher in an era of reform at [the] organiza- tion,” the criminal com- plaint stated. “Instead, the new leadership con- tinued to engage in criminal schemes in violation of their fiduciary duties.” During-mid 2012, Webb and another unnamed person, “co-conspirator #4” participated in discus- sions to negotiate the media and marketing rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifier matches. These rights were being sought by a U.S. subsid- iary of the Brazilian-based Traffic Group – Traffic USA, which wanted to buy the rights from the Caribbean Football Association, fed- eral court records state. Co-conspirator #4 was em- ployed by the Traffic Group at the time, but later on in the year became the general secretary of CONCACAF. Near the end of these talks, co-defendant #4 met with another now-indicted defendant, Costas Takkas, identified as a close asso- ciate of Webb’s. The meeting took place in Hungary. “Takkas told co-conspir- ator #4 that Webb wanted a US$3 million bribe in exchange for the [foot- ball union] contract to be awarded to Traffic USA,” the court records state. It is further alleged that the bribe was split among two companies, Traffic USA and another company named Sports Marketing Company C so that both would pay US$1.5 million to Webb. It is further alleged that Traffic USA’s payment was transmitted to Takkas through a Miami bank to an HSBC bank in Buffalo, New York, and eventually trans- ferred to an HSBC bank in Hong Kong. The indictment alleges that two wire transfers to- taling US$1 million were sent from Hong Kong to a correspondent account in New York City for credit to an account in the name of Kosson Ventures – a com- pany controlled by Takkas – at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands. The records state that the remaining US$500,000 owed by Traffic USA was paid into another ac- count controlled by Takkas at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands. “Takkas subsequently transferred the funds to an account in the name of a swimming pool builder at United Community Bank in Blairsville, Georgia,” the criminal complaint reads. “[This was] for the benefit of the defendant Jeffrey Webb, who was having a pool built at his residence in Loganville, Georgia. “Takkas transferred an- other portion of the funds directly from his Kosson Ventures account at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands to SunTrust Bank in Georgia for Webb’s benefit in connection with Webb’s purchase of other real es- tate in Stone Mountain, Georgia,” court records fur- ther stated. Federal prosecutors state that Takkas’s participation in the funds transfer was “more intermediary” in na- ture and was “designed to conceal the fact that Jeffrey Webb was the beneficiary of the payment.” It was unclear from the indictment whether Webb ever received the other half of the alleged bribe money from ‘Sports Marketing Company C.’ Gold Cup scheme Again in 2012, co-con- spirator #4, now employed as CONCACAF general sec- retary, entered into talks to sell the rights associ- ated with the upcoming Gold Cup and Champions League tournaments hosted by CONCACAF. As part of those discus- sions, it is alleged by fed- eral prosecutors that Webb “directed co-conspirator #4 to seek a bribe pay- ment in connection with the negotiations.” The bribe of US$1.1 mil- lion was in exchange for Webb’s agreement to award the 2012 Gold Cup and Champions League con- tract to Traffic USA. Aaron Davidson, the president of Traffic USA at the time, was said to have agreed to the bribe payment, according to federal court records. It is alleged that Webb and co-conspirator #4 dis- cussed the best way to ef- fect the bribe payment in order to conceal it. “Webb eventually in- structed co-conspirator #4 to submit a false invoice to Traffic USA for US$1.1 mil- lion to be paid to Soccer Uniform Company A, which co-conspirator #4 did,” the criminal complaint states. The uniform company is not named in the indictment, but it is stated that a close Webb associate had a con- nection to the company. After a number of wire transfers, the pay- ment ended up in the uni- form company’s account at Capital Bank in Panama City, Panama. The federal indictment alleges further bribe pay- ments were sought in ex- change for exclusive spon- sorship rights associated with 2015-2021 editions of the Gold Cup tournament and the 2015/16-2021/22 seasons of the CONCACAF Champions League. Again, it is alleged that Webb directed co-conspir- ator #4 to solicit a bribe in exchange for Webb’s agree- ment to award the rights to Traffic USA. “Though Webb wanted more, the parties eventu- ally settled on US$2 million as the size of the bribe pay- ment,” the criminal com- plaint states. The indictment again does not state whether Webb actually received the payments in this instance. Cayman’s Jeffrey Webb indicted in massive FIFA corruption probe CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Thursday May 28, 2015 • Cayman Compass For decades Baha’is have been imprisoned in Iran Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, 62, is a teacher and school principal who was dismissed from public education for being a Baha’i. For 15 years prior to her arrest, she had been director of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, which provides alternative higher education for Baha’i youth. She also served as secretary to the Friends in Iran, before becoming a member of the group. In university, she studied psychology, obtaining a bachelor’s degree. She began her professional career as a teacher and also worked as a principal at several schools. In her professional role, she also collaborated with the National Literacy Committee of Iran. After the Islamic revolution, how- ever, like thousands of other Iranian Baha’i educators, she was red from her job and blocked from working in public education. It was after this that she became director of the BIHE, where she also has taught psychology and management. She married Siyvash Sabet on 21 May 1973. They have a son and a daughter. While the other members of the Friends were arrested at their homes in Tehran on 14 May 2008, Mrs. Sabet was arrested in Mashhad on 5 March 2008. Although she resides in Tehran, she had been summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Baha’i cemetery in that city. Here is the fi rst of seven stories, remembering seven years in prison For further information, contact The Regional Baha’i Council at 949-3435/916-4130 or email: bevndale@candw.ky Opposition leader McKeeva Bush also declined to comment but asked the people of the Cayman Islands to keep Mr. Webb and his family in their prayers. Cayman Islands Football Association vice president Bruce Blake, understood to be in Switzerland with Webb for FIFA’s annual meeting, told the Compass via text message that he did not have any comment. “I don’t know any more than what is on the news,” he said. CIFA official and former Sports Minister Mark Scotland, also said to be in Switzerland, did not an- swer calls and texts. CONCACAF later issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by the day’s developments and was co-operating with authorities to the “fullest extent.” FIFA’s independent ethics committee released a sepa- rate statement confirming that the 11 officials arrested, including Webb, had been provisionally “banned from football related activities” as the investigation continued. The allegations, outlined in detail in a 161-page document filed with the U.S. District Court, Eastern District in New York, also state that Cayman Islands bank accounts were used to funnel illegal pay- ments to Webb. Jude Scott, the CEO of Cayman Finance, did not respond to requests for comment. Tim Ridley, the former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, said the allegations alone could damage the territory’s reputation. “Everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, and arrest per se is far from proof of guilt.” he said. “Having said that, the rep- utational damage to FIFA and to the related associa- tions and their officers is very, very significant. And the adverse media spot- light is very unfortunately inevitably also on Cayman, given that two of those ar- rested live in Cayman.” The indictment refers to a number of alleged bribery payments routed through Fidelity bank accounts, con- trolled by Webb’s attaché, former Cayman Islands res- ident Costas Takkas. Webb was previously business development manager at Fidelity Bank Ltd. Brett Hill, CEO and pres- ident of Fidelity Bank Ltd., did not respond to questions emailed by the Compass on Wednesday. Webb had been cred- ited with helping to de- velop sports tourism in the Cayman Islands, bringing several soccer tournaments and FIFA events to the is- land since taking over the role in 2012. A CONCACAF study, published in March, estimated the association had generated some $30 mil- lion for Cayman’s economy in that time. It is not known what im- pact, if any, Webb’s arrest will have on future events, including an international under-15 tournament, fea- turing 37 countries, including Brazil and England, sched- uled for August and expected to be the biggest tournament ever hosted on the island and a major sports tourism event. “The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism has a multi-faceted sports tourism strategy, which includes var- ious sports including foot- ball. We don’t anticipate the current allegations to im- pact our sports tourism strategy,” the department said in a short statement in response to questions from the Compass. Local soccer coaches said they were stunned by the allegations against Webb, who has been Cayman Islands Football Association president for more than two decades. Colin “Dougie” Rowe, tech- nical director of Scholars International in West Bay, said, “Jeff has done a lot for Cayman football and this is really hard to digest. It is sad to see how this is unfolding. “It is hard to know at this stage what took place, but I don’t think he is involved, and he is innocent.” Elbert McLean, technical director of Bodden Town Football Club, said: “This is sad for the country and for football in general. As the Bible says: ‘No sin goes un- punished’ but I’m praying and hoping that it’s not true.” Compass journalist Ron Shillingford contributed to this report. Cayman reacts: Shock, sympathy and silence structure that helps perpet- uate their influence. Whether FIFA is capable of meaningful reform re- mains to be seen, in large part because of what has been the unwavering sup- port for FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter by many of the organization’s smaller member-countries who benefit most from his largesse. FIFA counts 209 mem- bers, more than the United Nations, and rakes in bil- lions of dollars at every World Cup. Soccer fans and players worldwide for years have expressed dismay over the organization’s prac- tices, yet it has operated in much the same fashion. “Enough is enough,” Kelly T. Curry, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in announcing indictments against nine FIFA officials and five corporate execu- tives on charges of rack- eteering, wire fraud and money laundering. “Organized international soccer needs a new start – a new chance for its gov- erning institutions to pro- vide honest oversight and support of a sport that is beloved across the world...” Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor and sports economist, said, “This is a long time coming and certainly a positive de- velopment. This is an op- portunity for soccer to right itself and to have a better future. Even though there are dark clouds, I think it’s a bright day for soccer’s future.” American soccer fans hope that future includes moving the 2022 World Cup to U.S. soil. FIFA’s problems have steadily eroded worldwide fan support for the orga- nization. In a poll of more than 35,000 fans from 30 countries released this week by Transparency International, 69 percent said they had no confidence in FIFA. The poll also showed Australia favored slightly over the United States to stage the 2022 World Cup. Whether the investiga- tions prompt a 2022 re-vote and, in a broader context, force change in FIFA re- mains to be seen. © 2015, The Washington Post pleaded guilty to wire fraud. The guilty pleas and new indictment include not just FIFA, but also CONCACAF, the football con- federation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, and CONMEBOL, the South American football organization. The indictments de- tail bribery, kickback and money laundering schemes dating to the early 1990s. Blazer, former general secre- tary for CONCACAF, worked closely with Jeffrey Webb, who now faces indict- ment for his alleged role in more than two decades of alleged corruption. Allegations of corruption against Blazer, according to court documents unsealed this week, involve several long-running schemes. In 1993, Blazer and FIFA official Jack Warner, named in the criminal complaint as “Co- Conspirator #1” and a defen- dant in the most recent in- dictment, took a “six figure sum” as a bribe and kickback to get the contract to handle media and marketing for the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Hawilla and his com- pany Traffic USA, identified as “Company A” in the crim- inal case, passed “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks” to keep the media and marketing for the football tournament through 2003. Blazer passed much of this bribe money through wire transfers from a com- pany in Uruguay to a Barclays Bank account in New York, and then to Barclays in the Cayman Islands, using a Cayman company, Sportsvertising, to receive the money. A $600,000 wire transfer into Blazer’s Sportsvertising account in February 2003, after Barclays had been taken over by FirstCaribbean International, raised alarm at the bank. The new bank re- quired the document showing where the funds came from, court documents state. Blazer allegedly got a Panamanian company to backdate a “con- sulting services agreement” to explain the money. Blazer, according to court documents, allegedly agreed to vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup in exchange for $1 million. The 2004 deal involved FIFA’s Jack Warner and Webb, iden- tified in the documents as “Co-Conspirator #3,” who all voted in 2004 for South Africa’s successful World Cup bid. Blazer never did re- ceive all the money he was promised from that bribe, but Warner did pass more than $750,000 to Blazer’s Cayman account, according to the indictment. Blazer pleaded guilty on Nov. 25, 2013 to 10 counts in the U.S., including wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering and other financial crimes. The Brazil connection The Traffic Group, a Brazilian sports marketing conglomerate, and founder and owner Hawilla, ad- mitted their role in bribing Blazer and others to se- cure the media contract for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, starting with the tourna- ment in 1994, according to the indictment. Hawilla pleaded guilty in the money laundering and racketeering scheme in December last year, and he also agreed to forfeit $151 million in the criminal case. Traffic Sports USA and Traffic Sports International, subsid- iaries of Hawilla’s conglom- erate, pleaded guilty to their role May 14 of this year. Traffic and Hawilla, court documents state, started bribing their way into foot- ball marketing deals in the early 1990s, securing con- tracts with CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. Traffic had the Copa America tournament commercial rights, orga- nized by CONMEBOL, since 1993. The criminal court doc- uments state: “The commer- cial rights to all editions of the tournament starting with the 1993 edition and continuing through the 2023 edition were obtained through bribery.” At least one CONMEBOL official demanded higher and higher bribes as the years went on, refusing to sign the contract until Hawilla paid, according to the documents. The contracts were lucrative for Traffic, which had more than $64 million from the 2007 Copa America, for ex- ample. A separate lawsuit in Florida stated that more than five billion people watched the 2011 tournament. CONCACAF’s Gold Cup fol- lows a similar trajectory to the Copa America, with bribery proving a key factor in giving the marketing and media rights to traffic until 2003. Traffic and Hawilla lost the contract until the 2013 tourna- ment, when an alleged $1 mil- lion bribe helped the company win the contract again. Court documents in the criminal cases, all filed with guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, show a pattern of bribery, money laundering and racketeering by football officials who ran world and regional orga- nizations. They show years of work by investigators, looking into FIFA and its re- gional counterparts, reaching from Switzerland to South Africa to Cayman. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A twisted web of bribes and money laundering CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 FIFA’s powerful world shaken by US indictments, arrests CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Thursday May 28, 2015 Iran nuclear talks resume A senior U.S. official has joined nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers with little more than a month until the deadline for a deal. The talks resumed in Vienna Wednesday. Cameron outlines plans in Queen’s Speech LONDON (AP) — Britain’s first all-Conservative gov- ernment in two decades un- veiled its plans for power Wednesday, including laws to hold a referendum on European Union member- ship, give Scotland more au- tonomy and toughen immi- gration policies. The list of proposed leg- islation was read by Queen Elizabeth II at the State Opening of Parliament, an annual blend of politics and pomp replete with gilded throne, diamond-studded crown and officials in anti- quated garb. It follows a May 7 election that unexpectedly gave Prime Minister David Cameron’s center-right Conservatives a parliamentary majority – and with it the power to implement a political agenda without coalition compromises. The Queen’s Speech, de- livered by the monarch but written by the gov- ernment, included legisla- tion to cap welfare benefits, freeze some taxes for five years and hold a vote on EU membership by the end of 2017 – all key Conservative election promises. The queen said the gov- ernment would adopt a “One Nation approach, helping working people get on.” The speech promised legislation to cut red tape for small businesses and freeze income and sales tax rates until 2020. There was also a right-to-buy plan to help thousands of tenants become homeowners. The unemployed face a lower cap on benefits, while the government plans to make it harder for unionized workers to strike. Cameron’s “One Nation” may well have looser bonds. Scotland is getting more powers to raise and spend taxes, fulfilling a promise made by Cameron before last year’s Scottish indepen- dence referendum. Wales will also gain more au- tonomy, and there was a promise to reduce the say of Scottish lawmakers over policies that affect only England and Wales. Details of that plan, known as “English votes for English laws,” are likely to prove contentious – one of several pieces of leg- islation the government may struggle to pass. Cameron’s majority is small, just 12 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. An election vow to replace the Human Rights Act – which has a European court as its top arbiter – with a British bill of rights was re- duced to a promise of “pro- posals” rather than legisla- tion. The plan is opposed by some Conservatives as well as opposition parties. There will also likely be battles in Parliament over promised legislation to crack down on extremism and take a more unwelcoming ap- proach to immigration. In a ceremony she has enacted 61 previous times in her reign, the 89-year-old queen delivered the speech in the House of Lords – Parliament’s unelected upper house – to a tightly packed audience of lawmakers in ordinary clothes and peers in red robes trimmed with ermine. The queen arrived from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, pulled by two white horses and es- corted by cavalry whose silver helmets gleamed in the spring sunshine. Inside the Lords, she sat on a gilded throne wearing the Imperial State Crown, encrusted with almost 3,000 diamonds. The annual pageant draws heavily on the his- tory of the power struggle between the monarchy and Parliament. Lawmakers were summoned from the House of Commons by Black Rod, a se- curity official – but only com- plied after first slamming the door in his face to symbolize their independence. In another symbol of the traditional hostility be- tween Commons and crown, a lawmaker was held at Buckingham Palace as a “hostage” during the cer- emony to ensure the mon- arch’s safe return. The list of proposed legislation was read by Queen Elizabeth II at the State Opening of Parliament. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, during the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday in the House of Lords. Yeomen of the Guard hold their lanterns as they prepare to conduct a ceremonial search in the Palace of Westminster, before the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday. – Photos: AP/AlAstAir GrAnt Britain faces tension over push for less EU control PARIS (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron heads to continental Europe this week on a campaign to curtail EU involve- ment in national affairs. France and Germany, mean- while, want to move in the opposite direction. Which formula is more likely to ensure the EU’s survival? That’s the issue Cameron will face on his trip – and the existential ques- tion the EU is facing in the months to come. Cameron is visiting Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Poland as he launches his mission to scale back the EU’s po- litical powers over member states on sensitive issues such as migration and wel- fare. Without such changes, he says, his compatriots may vote to pull Britain out of the EU altogether in a refer- endum he has promised be- fore 2017. But France and Germany, whose post-war alliance formed the backbone of to- day’s European Union, have their own mission. They sent an outline for closer economic coopera- tion in a letter to European Commission President Jean- Claude Juncker reported by Le Monde. Juncker’s spokesman Margaritis Schinas welcomed the idea Tuesday as “key” to solidi- fying the shared euro cur- rency and European unity. Cameron’s official spokesman, Jean-Christophe Gray, said Tuesday that dis- cussions about the eurozone shouldn’t affect Cameron’s trip this week. Britain does not use the euro. But he conceded that Cameron’s trip might not be easy. “Of course you’ll have re- ports of ups and downs,” Gray told reporters in London. “But he is very clear about the mandate that he has and his determination to secure the best deal for the British people.” The conflicting initiatives are not necessarily mutually exclusive. But they do high- light a fundamental cross- Channel rift, with Britain ever more reluctant to throw in its lot with the other EU nations under the leadership of jugger- nauts Germany and France. And Cameron may be acutely aware that in the past it has often proved next to impossible to reverse a proposal that Berlin and Paris put forward ahead of a summit of EU leaders. The next summit is June 25-26. “The Franco-German con- tribution is useful, pertinent, important, key, I would say, in this process,” Schinas said. Cameron will be visiting Merkel and Hollande late this week, with the French and German leaders having a meeting in Berlin next Monday, likely with Juncker also in attendance. Other EU countries may be a bit more open to Cameron’s ideas, though ap- pear to be remaining cau- tious so far. Denmark, like Britain, is outside the euro and has opted out of some other EU institutions. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning- Schmidt said last week that she “first wanted to hear what Mr. Cameron has to say about what kind of changes they wish to achieve. And we will take it from there.”Next >