MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com Britain’s 14 overseas territories, in- cluding the Cayman Islands, will have to introduce public registers of beneficial ownership by the end of 2020. If they do not, the U.K. government will issue an order in council to force Cayman and other territories to do so. The U.K. Conservative Party govern- ment did not oppose an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laun- dering Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday, after a significant number of rebel Tory MPs supported the proposed changes and would have ensured a gov- ernment defeat in a vote. The amendment brought by Labour MP Margaret Hodge and Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell requires the 14 overseas territories, including the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, to introduce public ownership registers. It instructs the secretary of state to provide all reasonable assistance to the territories in the process and to “prepare a draft Order in Council requiring the government of any British Overseas Ter- ritory that has not introduced a publicly accessible register of the beneficial own- ership of companies within its jurisdic- tion to do so” no later than Dec. 31, 2020. The amendment defines public reg- isters as broadly equivalent to the U.K. company register. Last year, the Cayman Islands intro- duced a centralized beneficial owner- ship register that provides law enforce- ment and tax authorities in the U.K. with beneficial ownership information for Cayman-registered entities within 24 hours and in urgent cases within one hour. However, the register is not open to the public. Mr. Mitchell said the overseas terri- tories “travel under our flag and should share our values.” He said that much of the money stolen by corrupt governments in Africa ends up in British overseas territories. “We owe it to the poor of Africa as much as we owe it to the taxpayers in the U.K. [to] end this scandal,” he said. The Tory MP refuted the argument that an order in council was “over the top,” stating the U.K. parliament was “en- tirely entitled” to take such a step and it would only be “a last resort” if the over- seas territories did not act. He said the amendment had made significant concessions by excluding the U.K. Crown dependencies, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, who have a different constitutional structure, and by pushing back the deadline to imple- ment public registers of beneficial own- ership in the overseas territories by two and a half years. Last-minute compromise amend- ments by the Conservative government, that would have weakened the clause, were rejected by the Speaker of the House of Commons because they were tabled too late. Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office min- ister, said while ministers were reluctant to dictate to the overseas territories, “We have listened to the strength of feeling in this house on this issue and accept that it is without a doubt the majority view of this house that the overseas territo- ries should have public registers.” Interventions by the U.K. govern- ment in Cayman’s domestic legislation are rare, but orders in council have been used in the past in connection with the abolishment of the death penalty in 1991 and the decriminalization of homosexu- ality in 2000. Ms. Hodge said the importance of the issue justified intervention in the affairs of the overseas territories. “The areas on which we have intervened … are moral issues. I can’t think of an- other issue which is more moral than trying to intervene to prevent the traffic in corrupt money and illicit finance across the world.” Responding to the legislative amend- ment made in the House of Commons Tuesday, Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin said the “imposition of leg- islation, through powers that date back ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 Failure to find a solution that protects legitimate privacy will lead to a great outflow of quality business to jurisdictions that still respect data privacy – and there are many.” Timothy Ridley Given the confu- sion ... exhibited by the U.K. legislators, the Cayman Islands government will, no doubt, need to resort to litigation.” Anthony Travers The blatant disregard for the constitutional relationship between the U.K. and its territories is surely the most shameful part of this debacle.” Paul Byles UK to force Cayman, territories to make company owners public PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Imposition of legislation, through powers that date back to the colonial era, over and above the wishes of the democratically elected legislative bodies of the Overseas Territories, represents a gross affront to the constitutional relationship we currently have with the United Kingdom.” Premier Alden McLaughlin2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. - WEDNESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR 3D (PG13) 12:15 2D VIP I 12:20 I 3:25 2D 3:30 2D VIP I 6:45 2D VIP I 6:50 2D 9:10 I 9:55 2D VIP WRINKLE IN TIME 3D (PG) 2:40 2D I 5:05 I 7:30 2D A QUIET PLACE (PG13) 12:15 I 7:35 I 10:15 I CAN ONLY IMAGINE (PG) 2:30 I 10:00 EVERY DAY (PG13) 12:20 I 5:10 I 9:50 RAMPAGE (PG13) 12:50 2D I 4:40 2D I 6:40 I 10:00 2D READY PLAYER ONE (PG13) 1:35 I 7:10 BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Is there a abandoned car, weeded lot, late-night hangout or other neighbor- hood nuisance troubling you? Cayman residents – and anyone else with access to the internet – can now use the new Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service website to send in pictures, videos or written reports to the police about various neighborhood crime-related problems. The revamped site, www. rcips.ky, was launched Monday and provides links to various police services, as well as information about crime and the police service itself. However, RCIPS spokes- person Jackie Carpenter said the new site is also being used to assist with commu- nity policing, allowing resi- dents to report various issues to police via the site. “If there are confiden- tial tips … or just informa- tion that the community feels the police should know, but they’re not wanting to file a police report, it will just come in as intelligence [to the RCIPS Joint Intelligence Unit],” Ms. Carpenter said. The website function is not to be used for reporting crime as it happens, she said. In other words, if a resident sees a robbery, shooting, bur- glary or other serious crime happening, they should call the 911 Emergency Centre as usual. Ms. Carpenter said the RCIPS is working on estab- lishing a mobile applica- tion for smartphones which could be used to send the same reports, but she said that function will not be available for another two to three months. The RCIPS website will not store any data from users, Communications Of- ficer Jodi Powery said. “We won’t be retaining any per- sonal information for anyone …. This form doesn’t ask for any email address or contact phone number,” she said. Those who wish to re- port information on more sensitive, serious criminal activity may still use the Cayman Crime Stoppers website or phone number, or may report that activity to a police officer they trust, Ms. Powery said. Also included on the site is contact information for the police service’s 26 neigh- borhood police officers, who work in various areas of Grand Cayman, as another way to contact the RCIPS. “We’re trying to build that trust between RCIPS and the community,” Of- ficer Powery said. Cayman residents – and anyone else with access to the internet – can now use the new Royal Cayman Islands Police Service website to send in pictures, videos or written reports to the police about various neighborhood crime-related problems. Police website can receive crime reports CORRECTION In a story that ran on May 1 titled “Cayman Academy donates to local charities,” the cash donations presented to Cayman Islands Cancer Society and the Alzheimer’s De- mentia Association were incorrectly stated. At a school assembly, $4,311.50 was presented to Tiffany Conolly for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society and $1,132.56 went to Samantha Conolly for the Alzheimer’s and De- mentia Association.‘Occupied’ Sao Paulo high-rise collapses amid fire, 1 dead SAO PAULO (AP) – A high-rise building occupied by squat- ters in downtown Sao Paulo caught fire and collapsed Tuesday, sending chunks of fiery debris crashing into neighboring buildings and surrounding streets. Firefighter Lt. Andre Elias told Globo TV that at least one person had been killed. At the moment the building fell, a firefighter atop a neighboring building had been trying to save someone from the upper floors. TV images showed the person clinging to the build- ing’s side, while apparently also attached to a rope that the firefighter was holding. Then the wall the person was clinging to started to fall away, taking the person with it. The floors of the burning building collapsed like domi- noes, while debris flew in all directions, and a giant fire- ball briefly filled the street. Authorities later said that the person killed was the one the firefighter had been trying to save, and a body had not yet been found. Firefighters were using dogs to search for that person and any others in the rubble. The building, a former federal police headquarters, caught fire around 1:30 a.m. local time. Firefighters set up a perimeter and worked to evacuate people. Less than two hours later, the 25-floor building collapsed while Brazilian media were filming. No fire- fighters were hurt. By late Tuesday morning, several families who had fled were camping out in front of a nearby church, where neigh- bors and local businesses were dropping off supplies in- cluding bags of bread, milk, bottles of water and even some used clothing and shoes. Lohany Michely, 37, said she was asleep with her boyfriend and dog in their apartment on the third floor of the building when she began hearing people out- side yell about a fire. Seeing smoke, the couple left with their dog, then watched the building collapse about 45 minutes later. Clearing debris and ac- counting for people who had been inside could take days. Several hours after the collapse, smoldering de- bris continued to emit large plumes of smoke. The fire also burned part of a neighboring building, and authorities said three surrounding structures were evacuated as a precaution. TOASTMASTERS COMPETITION TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY The Grand Cayman Toastmasters Association will be hosting its area con- test at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the George Town Town Hall, next to the George Town Public Library. The contest will deter- mine who will advance to the district competition, which will be held in Haiti later in May. Members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend the event, where light refresh- ments will be served. THOUSANDS MARCH IN PUERTO RICO TO PROTEST AUSTERITY MEASURES SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Thousands of Puerto Ri- cans marched Tuesday to protest pension cuts, school closures and slow hurri- cane recovery efforts as anger grows across the U.S. territory over looming aus- terity measures. The Labor Day protest attracted teachers, retirees and unionized workers from both the private and public sectors, as well as the mayor of the capital of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz. Among those who marched through the city’s financial center before the protest grew violent was 56-year-old Juan de Dios del Valle, a government worker who was laid off in 2008 and has since found only occasional jobs as a gardener or janitor. “I’m here to support all those who are mired in poverty,” he said. The protest remained peaceful until hundreds of young protesters, many with their faces covered, threw rocks and other ob- jects as they clashed with police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to dis- perse the crowd. Air pistol charges sent to Grand Court CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two people appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday charged with importation of an unlicensed firearm on April 17, 2017. Mark Anthony Camp- bell Jr., 31, and Felicia She- nique Paddyfoote, 26, were charged separately, but de- tails appeared similar. They were charged with importing an unlicensed Powerline semiautomatic BB air pistol at Owen Roberts Interna- tional Airport. Magistrate Valdis Foldats pointed out that importation of a firearm without a license is a Category A offense, which it means it can be dealt with only in Grand Court. For that reason there was no discussion of the charges and no pleas entered. Ms. Paddyfoote was rep- resented by attorney Gregory Burke. Mr. Campbell was represented by attorney Nicholas Dixey. The magistrate adjourned the matter until Friday, May 11, when the defendants are to appear in the higher court. Their bail was con- tinued until then. They were charged with importing an unlicensed Powerline semiautomatic BB air pistol. A burning building in downtown Sao Paulo has collapsed Tuesday as firefighters worked to put out a fire that began in the middle of the night. – PHOTO: AP3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 william.forsythe@caymancaptive.ky Applications should be submitted by pdf only, no later than 18th of May 2018 to: The above Foundation is currently offering a scholarship for a maximum of four years to a Caymanian High School graduate. Preference will be given to those candidates who intend to pursue a career in the nancial services industry upon graduation from university. However applications from all disciplines will be accepted. Candidates should be prepared to begin their university degree programme in the 2018 school year. The choice of university must be approved by the Foundation. Applicants should possess a minimum of ve good passes at CXC or ICGSE or equivalent. Evidence of educational achievements and, if possible university acceptance should accompany the application. In addition, a brief biography and a narrative as to the reason for the choice of University/Course should be included. Additional details and an application form can be obtained at www.caymancaptive.ky “A scholarship from IMAC has been a tremendous opportunity of which I will always be grateful for. It has enabled me to pursue a degree at a top university to compete against some of the most intelligent students in the UK. Similarly, becoming a doctor means so much to me and this journey would have been a nancial burden without the generosity of the IMAC scholarship. Through IMAC I have embarked on a path where I can offer so much more to the people of the Cayman Islands than I would if I had not had this opportunity. Name: Whitney General Degree: Medicine (MB ChB) and BSc in Health Sciences at the University of Bristol S C H O L A R S H I P Whitney GENERAL INSURANCE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF CAYMAN EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION Whitney GENERAL Whitney GENERAL Whitney INSURANCE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF CAYMAN EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION CURRENT RECIPIENTCURRENT RECIPIENT RCIPS officers’ discrimination claims rejected BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Cayman Islands Grand Court judge has rejected claims in a 2016 lawsuit that the Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice Service employed discrim- inatory practices in deciding which senior officers should be retired and when those re- tirements should occur. Acting Grand Court Judge Nova Hall found in a March 15 ruling, which was released this week, that former Po- lice Commissioner David Ba- ines’s decision to retain some RCIPS officers beyond age 55 while “retiring” others was an “entirely appropriate gov- ernment action.” “The commissioner of po- lice was well aware of the needs of the police force and he had an absolute duty to meet those needs,” Justice Hall wrote in her decision. “He had an absolute discre- tion to determine the con- tractual terms of each officer engaged on a special con- tract; and he could not be fettered in the terms that he used to attracted and retain necessary officers.” The lawsuit, filed in Jan- uary 2016, opened a window into some of the racial and nationalistic divisions that have been occurring in the local police service over the past decade. The initial claim, made by two former RCIPS officers, al- leged they were forced to re- tire at age 55 and then accept a lower rank within the po- lice service if they wished to remain employed. A total of 10 current or former officers joined the suit, but four later withdrew their claims. The retirement age of 55, set under a previous revision of the Cayman Islands Police Law, no longer applies to of- ficers hired following Police Law (2010 revision) effective date, Nov. 11, 2010. The re- tirement age for all police of- ficers who joined the force after that date is 60. Further changes to the government’s Public Service Management Law made in 2016 set the re- tirement age to 65. However, anyone hired be- fore the 2010 date who was below the rank of police chief inspector still had to retire at 55 or, if given the option, could be re-engaged as a police con- stable or senior constable, the lowest ranks in the police ser- vice, the lawsuit claimed. During trial testimony, a number of current and former RCIPS officers testi- fied to their belief that the age 55 retirement rule was used against officers from Cayman or the wider Carib- bean, while officers who were recruited from the U.K. were routinely allowed to continue beyond that age on special one- or two-year contracts. Inspector Rudolph Gordon, the former chairman of the Cayman Police Officers Association, told the court that the association first be- came aware of officers being “treated differently” under the law in 2013. The association, which later sued the RCIPS over the issue, referenced the case of five U.K. police officers – all over age 55 – who were allowed to stay on with the department in the same rank. Meanwhile, Mr. Gordon said, local officers were being subjected to the “degrading” experience of having to be re- duced in rank if they wished to stay on the force. “It was very difficult for officers to adjust to being re- engaged at the lowest rank,” the court recorded Mr. Gor- don’s testimony as stating. “[Mr. Gordon] testified that he would feel personally de- graded to return to work as a constable having attained the position of inspector.” The court found that there was no reason to believe older officers would be hu- miliated or degraded by other members of the RCIPS staff for being returned at a lower rank after age 55. In fact, Jus- tice Hall said, most officers testified that they still en- joyed the respect of fellow officers at work upon return at lower rank. Furthermore, Justice Hall found that it was not only U.K.-born officers who were given contract extensions beyond age 55 at the same rank. She referenced the case of Sergeant Davis Scott, a Caymanian, who was re- tained by former Commis- sioner Baines beyond that age due to his special rela- tionship and knowledge of the East End community on Grand Cayman. Mr. Baines, who once awarded Mr. Scott the “police officer of the year” commendation, said the ser- geant had “local knowledge that was second-to-none.” The five U.K.-based officers referenced by the police asso- ciation in the lawsuit – Sean Bryan, Peter McLoughlin, Richard Oliver, Dennis Walk- ington and Ian Brellisford – were all specialists in certain areas where Cayman lacked local officers with that knowl- edge including police training, anti-corruption investigations and firearms protocols. “Officers hired under spe- cial contracts were not sub- ject to the terms of the re-en- gagement police for practical reasons,” Justice Hall wrote. “The posts sought to be filled could not be filled lo- cally and these were usu- ally posts which required se- nior officers. “The circumstances of the five British officers, all of whom are [or were at the time] on special contracts were distinguished. Officers hired on special contracts were not subject to the terms of the re-engagement police. The argument concerning the British officers is there- fore rejected.” “The commissioner of police was well aware of the needs of the police force and he had an absolute duty to meet those needs.” ACTING GRAND COURT JUSTICE NOVA HALL A years-long dispute over RCIPS employment practices has been decided in favor of the police service. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” When Cayman needed someone to “put out a fire,” Kirkland Nixon was our man. With his passing this week, Cayman has lost a stalwart citizen who embodied the steady, quiet virtues that form the backbone of our community. Whenever he was called to duty – which he often was, even after retirement from the Cayman Islands Fire Service – he served capably and admirably. Mr. Nixon’s tenure on this earth was an embodiment of the maxim, “A life of service is a life well and greatly lived.” “Kirkie,” as he was known in the community, was part of the generation of Caymanians whose adult- hood coincided with the emergence, and explosion, of the Cayman Miracle that transformed the “islands that time forgot” into a leading global financial center. During this landmark era in Cayman’s history, Mr. Nixon served his islands and his community in count- less capacities – not the least of which, as a neighbor, family member and friend. Premier Alden McLaughlin wrote that Mr. Nixon epitomized the best of Caymanian values: “patrio- tism, hard work and diligence, honesty, integrity and fairness, frankness, common sense and judgment.” Mr. Nixon kept his country safe as an upstanding civil servant, Cayman’s first chief fire officer and as a member of the National Hurricane Committee. He was a central figure in the challenging recovery after Hur- ricane Ivan, and helped create hurricane preparedness plans to hedge against future storms. As chairman of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority Board, Mr. Nixon stopped a years-long practice of bestowing overly generous severance payments to retiring airport employees. He was an unflagging guardian of the public interest in his service on several government boards. He strengthened the fabric of the community as a member of the Lions Club of Grand Cayman and through other volunteer efforts. He shared his deep appreciation of orchids and other botanical wonders – always willing to share advice about the proper care and feeding of the orchids, which he loved. Mr. Nixon was an avid conservator of our endemic orchid species, earning an Award of Merit from the American Orchid Society and the distinction of having two hybrid species bearing his name. Years after his retirement from the Fire Service in 2006, Mr. Nixon was called back as a strategic adviser to help repair a department that had been ravaged by understaffing and low morale in his absence. In 2016, he was called to serve on a governor’s panel to review our islands’ search and rescue capabilities. Even in his final days, Mr. Nixon’s thoughts turned to how he could contribute. His wife Melba told the Compass: “He wished he was young again because there was so many things he would have liked to fix in this country.” But even from this woefully abridged list of his accomplishments, it is clear that Mr. Nixon made the most of his preciously short life here on Earth, always contributing more than his share. The best way for us to honor Mr. Nixon and his family is to take up the ongoing work of building an ever-better country and community – inspired by those quiet virtues that characterized Mr. Nixon and the country he loved. Kirkland Nixon: A good man goes to a better place WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Abolishing campaign contribution limits President Trump and Am- azon’s Jeff Bezos dislike each other. The Washington Post, owned by Mr. Bezos, runs many stories each day at- tacking the president. Some are fair and about real issues. But many are petty or just plain wrong. Even The Post’s alleged “conservative” writers appear to have a weekly quota of “why Donald Trump is awful” stories. Mr. Bezos paid a reported $250 million to buy The Post. Being a newspaper, The Post can publish almost anything it wants to about a candi- date or political party be- cause it is protected by the First Amendment – which is as it ought to be. One of the things that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, is coming under attack for is having paid Stormy Daniels a re- ported $130,000 to withhold her story about an alleged af- fair with the president. Some are claiming he may have vi- olated the campaign finance regulations as a result of the payment. The argument is that by making the pay- ment and keeping Ms. Dan- iels quiet (which she has not been) more people may have voted for Mr. Trump and fewer for Hillary Clinton than if they had known about Ms. Daniels’ assertions. Presumably, one of the reasons Mr. Bezos’ Post pub- lishes so many negative sto- ries about Mr. Trump and the Republicans is to suppress the Republican vote and en- hance the Democratic vote. Why should what Mr. Bezos does be legal, and Mr. Cohen’s far smaller action be illegal? If Mr. Cohen had bought or founded a media property – no matter how small – and paid Ms. Daniels for her ex- clusive story and then de- cided not to publish it, his action also would have been entirely legal. The federal campaign fi- nance law restricts how much money a donor can give to a candidate for any one election per year to $2,700, and to a total of “National Party Committee Accounts” of $101,700 per account, per year. Violators may be sub- ject to fines and jail times. Critics rightly complain that such regulations violate the Constitution by restricting one’s ability to support in- dividuals and causes that they hold dear. News commentators, ce- lebrities (actors, athletes, co- medians, etc.) who are able to freely command air or print time have an almost unlim- ited ability to support or trash political candidates – all in the name of trying to influence voters – without vi- olating the campaign finance laws. A poor or even a rich person who is not already fa- mous needs to spend money to make his or her views known on issues and support or opposition to a candidate. This expenditure of money to do the same thing that the al- ready famous person does is what can lead to prison time, if not done precisely in accor- dance with the rules. Last week, the late-night comedian John Oliver did a long monologue on how ter- rible the Trump corporate tax rate reduction was. For the most part, it was not funny – except for the part where he used an old clip of John Stossel interviewing me (which was funny), and which is, of course, why I picked this particular example. In his plea for a higher cor- porate tax, Mr. Oliver did manage to demonstrate his ignorance of economics, much to the applause of the equally ignorant audience. His show is owned by a media corporation that is probably paying the corpo- rate income tax. If they wish to employ talent who whacks their own stockholders, so be it. But why should the cost of Mr. Oliver telling Americans in essence to vote against named candidates who sup- port lower corporate tax rates be tax deductible – while an individual, paying to support the message that named can- didates who support lower corporate tax rates that are good for American workers, not be allowed to deduct his or her cost and also be in danger of prosecution if he or she spends “too much” to convey the message? Rachel Maddow of MSNBC and Sean Hannity of FoxNews spend an hour each night telling Americans who the good and bad politicians are and implying who Amer- icans should vote for (Ms. Maddow and Mr. Hannity totally disagree with each other, and that is fine). The networks and their adver- tisers spend millions to pro- duce and air these shows. If you do not own a media company and spend a few thousand dollars renting billboards (above what the Federal Election Commission says is allowed), with the exact same message of Ms. Maddow or Mr. Hannity, the guys with the handcuffs will come for you. Any determined person can legally get around the campaign finance restric- tions with the aid of a smart lawyer. For example, one may spend unlimited amounts supporting an issue that is clearly identified with the preferred candidate – pro- vided it is not said to ex- plicitly vote for a partic- ular candidate. General Electric used to own NBC, which was a very different line of business from its much larger tradi- tional industrial manufac- turing activities. What is to stop any business (e.g. “Joe’s Hog Farm”) from setting up a little media unit which it can use for political advocacy while running old documen- taries for cover? The internet age allows almost anyone to set up their own Internet broadcast network, making the old campaign finance re- strictions almost impossible to police. The correct solution is to get rid of the hypocrisy and let unlimited free speech for everyone to flourish. Richard W. Rahn is chairman of Improbable Success Productions and on the board of the American Council for Capital Formation. © 2018, The Washington Times, LLC. RICHARD W. RAHN5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 BritCay BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town.Tel. 949-8699 12 Kirkconnell Street, Stake Bay, Cayman BracTel. 948-176 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International Ltd. insurance, health, pensions, life CISHRP Conference Partnership BritCay is delighted to announce a three-year partnership with the Cayman Islands Society of Human Resource Professionals (CISHRP) to present its annual Human Resources Conference. The partnership, which runs from this year to 2020 is valued at just under CI$100,000, starting with a CI$30,000 contribution this year. CISHRP Conference 9-11th May This year, the Conference is scheduled for 9-11th May at the Kimpton Sea Fire Resort & Spa in Grand Cayman. More details can be found at their website: www.cishrp.ky Photo: Left to right: John Cameron, BritCay General Manager Chris Bailey, CISHRP President Rachael Harris, BritCay Business Retention Consultant Felicia Deslandes, CISHRP Director Robert Vazquez, BritCay Health Account Manager Partners in local business development cgigrp Autism Society advocates for better coverage JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Premier Alden McLaughlin threw his weight behind a new society set up to support families impacted by autism, during a launch event at Ca- mana Bay Monday night. The Autism Society aims to advocate for better insur- ance coverage and community support to fund therapies and other interventions for chil- dren with the condition. The society launched Monday night with a screening of the Oscar-winning docu- mentary “Life Animated” at Ca- mana Bay. The movie charts the coming of age of a young man, who overcame severe autism by using his love of Disney movies to learn to communicate and live an in- dependent life. Speaking at a launch event at Abacus restaurant following the movie, Mr. McLaughlin said the story had helped him understand the core of the issue. “The movie brought home to me in a way I don’t think anything else could have, just how great the possibilities are when there is the necessary re- sources, support and love for people who have autism, and how they can become an in- tegral part of our society and be contributing citizens and to have meaningful lives,” he said. Those comments drew ap- plause from the assembled parents, teachers, therapists and advocates for the cause of those impacted by a condition they believe is often misunder- stood and misrepresented. Morne Botes, one of the founding members of the new organization, said the group wants to raise awareness of the potential of children with autism to live meaningful, in- dependent lives if they get the right intervention and support early in life. Mr. Botes, whose own son Carter is autistic, said the scale of the treatment and therapies required was un- manageable for most fami- lies without support. Most in- surers in Cayman still do not cover the full range of thera- pies for autistic children. He said the professional support network on the island was very good, but many cannot afford to access it. “We’re lucky because we have the means to give our son the support he needs but many families are not so fortu- nate, and we want to do what we can to provide the advo- cacy, financial and community support to help them.” Shirlene Thames, an- other board member and the parent of an autistic child, said many families were strug- gling to meet the cost of pro- viding their children with the therapy they need. She said the board had a lot of work to do. “We’re looking forward to working together to bring awareness, advocate and see how we can best help the kids, help the island and bring about some changes that we need. “A lot of what we struggle with is access to therapies. Early intervention is crucial.” On day one, the society ap- pears to have achieved at least one of its aims – getting their message in the ears of those in power. Mr. McLaughlin said his presence, along with Deputy Governor Franz Man- derson and counselor Barbara Conolly was a sign that gov- ernment was listening. “How fortunate we are to have people like you who are willing to step forward and ac- tually put together and con- tribute to an organization that will actually lobby for the new legislation, and resources and also work to create better public awareness and ed- ucation of this issue,” the premier said. The Autism Society launched Monday night at Camana Bay. – PHOTO: JAMES WHITTAKER OWNER OF WASHED-UP BOAT SOUGHT A 35-foot Dominican-type Panga boat that was found washed up on the south shore of Cayman will be seized and disposed of by the Port Authority if the owner does not claim the vessel. According to a notice from the Port Director, as Receiver of Wrecks, the vessel has a white hull, orange bottom, is blue inside and has no en- gine. It has the markings “AQUI LA VI L 3904” on its left side, near the stern. “The owner of this vessel may claim the vessel be- fore May 17, 2018, by pro- ducing proof of ownership, such as bill of sale, etc.,” the notice read. “Failing the above, the Re- ceiver of Wrecks will exercise his powers in relation to the disposition of the vessel,” ac- cording to the notice. The Panga washed up on the south side of Grand Cayman.6 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS The Health Services Au- thority has acquired a new mobile dental unit, which will be dedicated to pro- viding general dental ser- vices to government primary schools that do not have in- house dental clinics. The mobile unit, outfitted with a single dental surgery and modern technology, will rotate through the East End, North Side and Savannah Primary Schools for a dura- tion of about three months at each institution, according to a press release from the Health Services Authority. “We are excited to have this new unit to provide pa- tients with a greater scope of services on the spot,” said Schools and Districts Dental Officer Dr. Andrea Maitland, “Patients can expect the same quality and scope of services as those offered by an in- house clinic.” The new 200 square foot unit replaces the older mo- bile dental clinic which, after being used for more than 20 years for dental care on Grand Cayman, has become obsolete as a result of the lack of space and modern technology necessary to meet the needs of patients, the HSA said. The new unit has a wider range of services, including digital radiography and more modern equipment, and sig- nificantly improves the pa- tient experience and comfort through greater space. The vehicle will operate under the direction of Dr. Maitland. In addition, den- tist Dr. Carolyn Rickleton, dental hygienist Connie Irby and dental assistants Linette Pattaway and Bertilo Powery will staff the unit on a rotating basis. The unit is already op- erational and being used temporarily for dental ser- vices at the Bodden Town Health Centre as the facil- ity’s dental clinic undergoes renovation. Once the reno- vation is completed, the ve- hicle will begin its rotation through the schools. Several other schools on the island have their own in-school dental clinics, in- cluding John A Cumber Pri- mary, George Town Primary, Red Bay Primary and Pros- pect Primary, as well as both Clifton Hunter and John Gray High Schools. Those wishing to book an appointment with the Bodden Town Health Centre Dental Clinic can call 947-2299 or 525-2146 during operating hours. Eighteen months for dangerous driving Victim’s life ‘turned upside down’ by injuries CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The case of fire officer Col- burn Martin came very close to being the worst dangerous driving it was possible to imagine, Justice Michael Wood said before sentencing the defendant to 18 months’ imprisonment. Justice Wood passed the sentence on Monday after hearing details of a colli- sion on Cayman Brac on July 2, 2016. Crown counsel Kenneth Ferguson explained that dan- gerous driving is usually dealt with in the Traffic Court by a magistrate, but this case was so serious that the Crown elected to bring it up to the Grand Court. The max- imum sentence, he noted, is two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to $3,000, or both. Mr. Martin’s offending oc- curred around 7 p.m. as he was driving on the south coast road in an easterly di- rection. A woman was driving on the same stretch of road in a westerly direction. The collision occurred when Mr. Martin’s vehicle drifted onto the wrong side of the road, into the woman’s lane, and there was a violent impact. Mr. Ferguson said the woman’s feet were pinned down by the steering wheel and she had to be extracted by a team from the fire ser- vice. It took over an hour to free her and she was taken to Faith Hospital, then airlifted to Grand Cayman. Multiple injuries included a fractured pelvis, compound fractures of both legs, fractured ribs, a punctured lung, a badly fractured hand, and multiple scrapes resulting in scars. She underwent surgery that lasted nine hours and subsequently had two more major surgeries. At the accident scene, Mr. Martin was asked to do a roadside breath test, which he refused. At the hospital, he re- fused to give a blood sample for testing. Later, he said he had refused because on- lookers told him not to do the test. Police had found empty beer containers in his vehicle and there was evidence of him having purchased beer that morning, then having three beers at one restaurant and another at a bar. Accident reconstruction- ists concluded that the colli- sion was caused by Mr. Mar- tin’s vehicle being on the wrong side of the road and excessive speed. One cal- culation was that the ve- hicle was traveling at 74 mph two and a half seconds before the impact, and 58 mph one-half second before the impact. The speed limit in the area was 40 mph. Mr. Martin was on police bail at the time for driving under the influence of al- cohol; Mr. Ferguson said that charge was later withdrawn, but did not say why. A social inquiry re- port showed the defen- dant to be at high risk as a problem drinker. He had ac- cepted that he was at fault for the collision, but did not accept that he was drunk at the time. Since the acci- dent, he had continued to consume alcohol. The report said that if he did not quit drinking, he would continue to be a risk to members of the public. Defense attorney Neil Kumar told the court his un- derstanding was that Mr. Martin’s insurance would cover claims up to one million dollars. He said Mr. Martin, 26, was a fire officer and a refer- ence letter referred to him as an exemplary employee. Justice Wood noted that Mr. Martin had initially pleaded not guilty to dan- gerous driving, but guilty to careless driving. “The Crown, unsurprisingly, did not ac- cept your pleas.” Although the guilty plea came late, the judge said he would give 25 percent discount. The woman’s injuries were catastrophic, he noted, and both cars were write-offs. The judge said he was heartened to know that Mr. Martin has an insurance policy that would cover the damage and medical ex- penses. “From the history of these proceedings, that amount is likely to be maxi- mized because the injuries are so exhaustive, long-term and likely to be continuing,” he commented. To this day, the victim re- quires 24-hour assistance, he summarized. She was now able to walk, but with a pro- nounced limp. “As for run- ning again, that is a distant dream,” he quoted from the victim impact report. The woman said the accident had affected her whole life and her sister’s also because her sibling had to leave her own career and come to the Brac to care for her. “I don’t know how long it will take me to recover, if ever,” the woman said. Justice Wood told the de- fendant he would have given the maximum sentence if this case had gone to trial. With discount for plea, the term of immediate imprison- ment was 18 months. There is to be a two-year period of supervision afterward and Mr. Martin will be as- sessed or treatment. He will be prohibited from liquor-li- censed premises. His disqualification from driving, which began in May 2017, is for three years. One calculation was that the vehicle was traveling at 74 mph two and a half seconds before the impact, and 58 mph one-half second before the impact. The speed limit in the area was 40 mph. Cayman Brac joins Earth Month efforts Residents of Cayman Brac did their part for this year’s Earth Month activi- ties, which kicked off as early as the beginning of March for some. Working with Yello Pages, the primary schools in Cayman Brac took part in the Yello2Green recy- cling competition, which was held between March 5 to 25, to collect old and ex- pired phone books. Between Creek and Spot Bay Primary School and West End Pri- mary School, 1,970 directo- ries were collected. Abraham Smith, who collected 905 di- rectories, won a $100 gift card from The Shoppe. Both primary schools received a $250 dollar gift to the school’s Parent Teacher Association, as well as a pizza party spon- sored by PoPo Jeb’s for the homerooms that collected the most books. Melanie Shambaugh, marketing manager of Yello, stated that the collected books would be shipped to a manufacturer abroad to be converted into reusable ma- terials, such as home insu- lation for energy efficiency. Throughout April, a number of organizations got involved in celebrating Earth Month through var- ious activities. On April 18, Layman E. Scott High School’s YMCA Adventure Club cleaned the northern shore of the island directly behind the high school, using lines and feed bags from the Goat Farm to clear trash, which elimi- nated the need for plastic bags to be used. On April 19, three bus- loads of students and staff took to Long Beach where they removed balls of fishing lines, pallets and nets, as well as man-made rafts and other larger items. On April 22, which was international Earth Day, the National Trust sponsored its annual beach cleanup in the Brac of the southeastern coast below the Bluff. Mem- bers of the community joined the beach cleaners in pulling up 31 parcels of gar- bage from those cleaning below. Groups such as Turtle Patrol were also in- volved in clearing beach areas that are known for turtle nests. West End Primary School culminated the schedule of events on April 27 for a whole-school “dress-down day” where pupils donated $2 to the National Trust and wore non-uniform clothes. Pupils from years 1 to 5 cleaned the turtle nesting beaches in anticipation for turtle mating season. More than $400 was raised for the National Trust. Health Services Authority launches mobile dental unit Layman E Scott High School students help clean up the Brac’s beaches. The interior view of the new unit’s single dental surgery. The HSA’s new mobile dental unit will be based in Bodden Town while renovations are carried out at the Bodden Town Health Centre.7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 Woman’s extradition date confirmed CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A woman scheduled for deportation appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday, where she pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct at a police station. Kenia Alonzo Solis, cur- rently serving a sentence for bigamy, admitted using inde- cent or disorderly or insulting language or behavior at a po- lice station on Nov. 13, 2017. In discussion of the of- fense and likely sen- tence, Crown counsel El- eanor Fargin advised that Ms. Solis was due to be de- ported on May 25. The deportation order was made by Justice Michael Wood, who passed sentence on Ms. Solis on April 20. He had handed down a term of two months’ immediate im- prisonment and directed that she be deported “as soon as possible.” She had pleaded guilty to a charge of bigamy – admit- ting that she went through a ceremony of marriage in 2016 with Aric Matthew Brooks during the lifetime of another man whom she had married in 2005 and from whom she was not divorced. Ms. Solis, 29, had been in Summary Court in March, where she pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr. Brooks two months earlier. Her sentence was seven weeks, reflecting the time she had spent in custody. At that time, the court was told that immi- gration authorities had re- voked her right to remain in Cayman. Ms. Solis is a Hon- duran national. This week, Ms. Fargin told Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats that the November of- fense occurred after police were called to a George Town bar shortly after 3 a.m., when Ms. Solis was behaving in a drunk and disorderly manner. At the Fairbanks Detention Centre, she was verbally ag- gressive and uncontrollable, Ms. Fargin said. Ms. Solis later apolo- gized and said she had been drinking heavily. The magistrate pointed out that the charges were straightforward and could have been brought to court in March when Ms. Solis was sentenced for the assault. That way, she could have had the benefit of having every- thing sentenced together. He said he was not going to interfere with the depor- tation order, so he imposed a sentence of one week concur- rent with the term she is cur- rently serving. Ms. Fargin said the Crown would withdraw the drunk and disorderly charge and the magistrate dismissed it. Math intervention boosts performance scores MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com A math intervention pilot program helped mid-range performing Year 3 students in government schools im- prove their performance by 38 percent over a three- month period. Officials are hoping to im- plement a broader program next year based on the prom- ising results. While the screening of the students revealed marked im- provement, it also revealed potentially troubling weak- nesses in the skills of the av- erage Year 3 student. Even students who scored in the mid-range in a follow-up screening struggled to an- swer the question of “How far is 78 from 100?” Less than 20 percent were able to provide the correct answer. A signifi- cant number of students had trouble counting numbers higher than 100. And a ma- jority missed simple addition and subtraction problems, such as 23 minus 6. Frank Eade is the nu- meracy specialist for the Ministry of Education. He said the new interven- tion program was taught by someone with experience in the way it is handled in the United Kingdom. Early in- tervention, he said, has been shown to boost students’ success in math. “The evidence is, this is by far the most effective method,” Mr. Eade said. Students were initially screened at the beginning of the school year. They were asked by evaluators to per- form such tasks as starting at a given number and counting forwards or backward, and then doing addition and sub- traction problems. The prob- lems were presented in a way that required some interpre- tation on the part of the stu- dent. Evaluators assessed whether students used se- quential counting to solve the problems or whether they structured them as formal math problems. The lowest score pos- sible was 8. The highest was 24. Most of those scoring be- tween 15 and 19 were pro- vided with twice-weekly ses- sions to help improve their math skills. The sessions in- volved one instructor and three students. “We don’t take the very worst,” Mr. Eade said. “If you do, you’ve got to do one-on- one and that gets expensive.” Many of these low-per- forming students, he said, are already getting additional as- sistance in school. A second screening was done in December, using the same questions. In addition, a third screening, dubbed the winter screen, was done at the same time, with ques- tions that were a little harder. This third screening was de- signed to take into account material the students had been learning in the class- room during the fall. Students who received in- tervention showed significant improvement. Those with the lower scores in the mid-range benefited the most when it came to taking the second screen. Students who scored 15 on the original screen, scored an average of 21.4 on the second one, a 43 per- cent increase. The same group scored an average of 17.8 on the winter screen. That 18.7 percent rise, however, was less than the increase on the winter screen by those with higher initial scores. Students who scored 18 on the original screen, and who received intervention, had an average score of 23.5 on the winter screen, an in- crease of 31 percent. In contrast, those who scored 20 points or higher received no intervention and saw their scores decline. The group only took the winter screen as a follow-up. The av- erage score dropped from 22 to 21 for the group, a 5 per- cent decrease. Mr. Eade said he and other officials have decided that even earlier intervention will be better. They plan to shift their focus to Year 2 stu- dents during the next school year. The screenings and in- terventions will be done at all government primary schools, he said. While the screening of the students revealed marked improvement, it also revealed potentially troubling weaknesses in the skills of the average Year 3 student. Year 3 students in government schools are undergoing a math intervention pilot program.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS In Loving Memory of Elsie Venida Ebanks who left us 26 years ago. Thanks Mom for the memories that you left with us. Each day we remember The love you gave to us, and the moments we shared. Oh, how we cherished those time we spent together. From your Daughter & Grandson Connie & James to the colonial era, over and above the wishes of the dem- ocratically elected legislative bodies of the Overseas Terri- tories represents a gross af- front to the constitutional re- lationship we currently have with the United Kingdom.” Imposing such an obli- gation on the Overseas Ter- ritories while exempting the Crown Dependencies dis- criminates unfairly against the Overseas Territories, the premier said. He also noted the apparent double standard adopted by the House of Commons during the debate on the same amendment bill, when it voted down an amendment to the UK’s Companies Act, which would have required due dil- igence on beneficial owners of U.K. companies in order to prevent money laundering. “Since 2013 I have been completely clear that, when public registers become a global standard, the Cayman Islands will adopt them,” he added. “The actions in the House of Commons today seek to impose the U.K.’s own flawed system of unveri- fied public registers upon the Overseas Territories by the end of 2020.” (See the Cayman Islands government’s full statement below.) Opponents of the amend- ment noted that the existing registers in the overseas ter- ritories, which provide access to U.K. law enforcement and tax authorities, were a valu- able intelligence resource that would disappear once the reg- isters are made public, be- cause any illicit money will go to “where it is darkest.” Mr. Mitchell said, “It is only by openness and scru- tiny, by allowing charities, NGOs and the media to join up the dots, that we can ex- pose this dirty money and those people standing behind it. Closed registers do not begin to allow us to do it.” Making registers of ben- eficial ownership public may be aimed at money laun- dering and the proceeds of crime, but it also threatens the part of the financial ser- vices business in the territo- ries that is based on clients who value their privacy. Timothy Ridley, former chairman of the Cayman Is- lands Monetary Authority, said, “Failure to find a solu- tion that protects legitimate privacy will lead to a great outflow of quality business to jurisdictions that still re- spect data privacy – and there are many. “It is ironic that, at the time when the EU, including the U.K., and offshore financial centers are implementing data protection laws, basic privacy rights risk being thrown out of the window.” Mr. Ridley said there was still time to “reach a negotiated settlement with the U.K.” but the overseas territories would have to show leadership and present a united front. Anthony Travers, senior partner at Travers Thorp Al- berga said the legislative pro- posal was capable of causing significant harm to the fi- nancial services industry in the Cayman Islands and no good reason had been estab- lished for extending the right to access beneficial own- ership information to the public at large. He urged the Cayman Is- lands government to chal- lenge an order in council. “Not simply because the Consti- tution precludes the United Kingdom government from doing so in relation to what is clearly a matter of the in- ternal affairs of the Cayman Islands, but also because any attempt to make the owner- ship of Cayman Islands enti- ties available to the public at large contradicts the unequiv- ocal protection laid out in the Cayman Islands Constitution with regard to the protection of the legitimate right to pri- vacy,” Mr. Travers said. “Given the confusion on both points exhibited by the United Kingdom legislators, the Cayman Islands govern- ment will, no doubt, need to resort to litigation to establish both points with certainty.” The Cayman government said in a statement it is con- sidering a legal challenge to the amendment which vio- lated accepted and conven- tional constitutional relation- ships between the U.K. and the Cayman Islands. Paul Byles, president of the Chamber of Commerce, pointed to Cayman’s track record in tax and law en- forcement cooperation and recent commitments to ex- change tax information under the common reporting stan- dards and FATCA. “If the refusal to take Cay- man’s actual commitments and regulatory framework into consideration is poor, the bla- tant disregard for the consti- tutional relationship between the U.K. and its territories is surely the most shameful part of this debacle,” Mr. Byles said. The Chamber of Commerce president added that the U.K. parliament had shown no re- gard for the potential eco- nomic impact of requiring the territories to implement public registries when most other countries are not re- quired to do so. The U.K. is currently the only country in the world that has a public beneficial ownership registry, although EU countries are set to es- tablish public registries in the near future. Former Minister for the Overseas Territories Henry Bellingham noted during the House of Commons debate the dependency on financial services of territories like the Cayman Islands and the BVI. He said a great deal of effort was needed from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to work closely with the terri- tories, share knowledge and give support in the transition to “this new world that they have to live in.” The BVI will need support in developing tourism and ag- riculture to make up for the shortfall of financial services business, he said. When contacted by the Cayman Compass for com- ment, Cayman Finance said it was still analyzing the consequences of the vote on the Cayman Islands finan- cial services industry and would issue a statement the following day. Full statement from Cayman Islands government “The Cayman Islands Government is deeply ag- grieved by the acceptance of the UK Government today of an amendment to the Sanc- tions and Anti-Money Laun- dering Bill in the House of Commons.” The Premier was refer- ring to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill amendment that was ac- cepted by the House of Com- mons on Tuesday, May 1. It requires the British Over- seas Territories, but not the Crown Dependencies, to es- tablish public registers of beneficial ownership in- formation by no later than Dec. 31 2020. The Premier, the Hon Alden McLaughlin, said: “Imposition of legislation, through powers that date back to the colonial era, over and above the wishes of the democratically elected leg- islative bodies of the Over- seas Territories represents a gross affront to the consti- tutional relationship we cur- rently have with the United Kingdom. Further, imposing such an obligation on the Overseas Territories while ex- empting the Crown Depen- dencies discriminates un- fairly against the Overseas Territories. This amendment is based solely on preju- dice and a wilful misunder- standing of our current regu- latory framework.” The Minister for Finan- cial Services, the Hon. Tara Rivers, added: “Even more unfortunate, today’s actions indicate that, for political ex- pediency, the UK has chosen to ignore Cayman’s high level of ongoing coopera- tion which is embedded in our laws and international agreements. Over 100 tax au- thorities globally, including HMRC, and UK crime agen- cies already have access to information which states who owns what and how much in relation to Cayman companies. Indeed, verified beneficial ownership infor- mation on Cayman struc- tures has been available to the UK’s legal, regulatory and tax authorities for more than 15 years, and our agree- ment on the sharing of in- formation with the United Kingdom authorities is of such strength that we have committed to reporting within 24 hours, or within 1 hour in the case of a truly emergent situation.” Central public registers are not the global standard. Premier McLaughlin went on to state: “Since 2013 I have been completely clear that, when public registers be- come a global standard, the Cayman Islands will adopt them. The actions in the House of Commons today seeks to impose the UK’s own flawed system of unveri- fied public registers upon the Overseas Territories by the end of 2020.” The Premier also noted the apparent double stan- dard adopted by the House of Commons during the de- bate on the same amendment bill, when it voted down an amendment to the UK’s Com- panies Act, which would have required due diligence on beneficial owners of UK com- panies in order to prevent money laundering. “The Government of the Cayman Islands is keeping all options on the table in- cluding a legal challenge to the amendment which vio- lates accepted and conven- tional constitutional rela- tionships between the UK and the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands has its own democratically elected gov- ernment and is not repre- sented in the UK Parliament. The actions of the House of Commons in seeking to leg- islate for the Cayman Is- lands amount to constitu- tional overreach and are reminiscent of the worst in- justices of a bygone era of colonial despotism.” The U.K. Parliament passed an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill in the House of Commons Tuesday, which will require British Overseas Territories to adopt public beneficial ownership registries. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 UK to force Cayman, territories to make company owners public9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2018 The annual Balance of Payments (BOP) Survey collects information necessary in recording the Cayman Islands residents’ foreign transactions with the rest of the world. The survey runs from April 9th to June 1st, 2018. Data collected for the BOP survey is CONFIDENTIAL under the Statistics Law (2016 Revision) and EXEMPT from Freedom of Information Law. Foreign Exchange Revenue from Services in 2016, CI$Million For assistance or enquiries, please check www.eso.ky or call 244-4600 or 244-4607. Better Data...Better Decisions…Better Business Business Survey 2018... Your Response Matters! Did the Cayman Islands revenue on export of services increase or decrease? In 2016, total foreign exchange revenue from Cayman’s export of services totalled CI $1.97 billion. TravelFinancial and Accounting, legal Government insurance services & other business and other services 578.3 68.6 751.0 571.8 Trump lawyers get Mueller question list WASHINGTON (AP) – Special counsel Robert Mueller has given a list of almost four dozen questions to lawyers for President Donald Trump as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump obstructed justice, ac- cording to a report published in The New York Times. The Times obtained a list of the questions, which range from Trump’s motivations for firing FBI Director James Comey a year ago to con- tacts Trump’s campaign had with Russians. Although Mueller’s team has indicated to Trump’s law- yers that he’s not considered a target, investigators remain interested in whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice and want to interview him about several episodes in office. The lawyers want to resolve the investigation as quickly as possible, but there’s no agree- ment on how to do that. Many of the questions ob- tained by the Times center on the obstruction issue, in- cluding his reaction to At- torney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Russia in- vestigation, a decision Trump has angrily criticized. Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment to The Associated Press on Monday night, as did White House lawyer Ty Cobb. The questions also touch on the Russian meddling and whether the Trump cam- paign coordinated with the Kremlin in any way. In one question obtained by the Times, Mueller asks what Trump knew about cam- paign staff, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, reaching out to Moscow. Mueller has brought several charges against Manafort, but none are for any crimes related to Russian election interference during the 2016 campaign. And he has denied having anything to do with such an effort. The queries also touch on Trump’s businesses and his discussions with his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, about a possible Moscow real es- tate deal. Cohen’s business dealings are part of a sepa- rate FBI investigation. One question asks what discussions Trump may have had regarding “any meeting with Mr. Putin,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Another question asks what the president may have known about a possible at- tempt by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel with Russia be- fore Trump’s inauguration. Additional questions center on Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security ad- viser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions on sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transi- tion. Flynn is now cooperating with Mueller’s investigators. “What did you know about phone calls that Mr. Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kis- lyak, in late December 2016?” reads one question. Another asks if there were any efforts to reach out to Flynn “about seeking immunity or pos- sible pardon.” Flynn was fired Feb. 13, 2017, after White House of- ficials said he had misled them about his Russian con- tacts during the transition period by saying that he had not discussed sanctions. The following day, according to memos written by Comey, Trump cleared the Oval Of- fice of other officials and en- couraged Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn. Although Mueller’s team has indicated to Trump’s lawyers that he’s not considered a target, investigators remain interested in whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice. President Donald Trump UK government suffers Brexit defeat in House of Lords LONDON (AP) – The British government faced pressure over Brexit at home and abroad Monday, including a defeat in Parliament over who gets the final say on an exit deal with the European Union. By 335 votes to 244, the House of Lords backed an amendment to the govern- ment’s key Brexit bill to give Parliament decision-making power on the outcome of negotiations with the EU – including the power to call off the divorce. The government said it was disappointed. Brexit Minister Martin Callanan said the decision would “weaken the U.K.’s hand in our negotiations with the EU by giving Parliament un- precedented powers.” It’s not clear whether the amendment will be approved by law- makers when the bill goes back to the elected House of Commons. Meanwhile the EU’s chief negotiator urged faster ac- tion on the fraught problem of the Irish border, saying there needs to be agreement by June on a way to keep it barrier-free after Brexit. The Northern Ireland- Ireland border will be the U.K.’s only land frontier with the EU after Brexit. Britain and the bloc agree there must be no customs posts or other infrastructure along the currently all-but- invisible 310-mile border. But Britain also says it will leave the EU’s tariff- free customs union. Offi- cials from the two sides are trying to find a way to rec- oncile the two positions. Britain rejects the EU’s suggestion, which is to keep Northern Ireland in- side the bloc’s customs union. The EU says the U.K. has yet to propose a work- able alternative. On a visit to the border region, EU negotiator Mi- chel Barnier said “we need to agree rapidly by June on the scope of all-island customs and regulations, the safety and controls that we need to respect the single market.” Britain and the EU want to strike an overall Brexit agreement by Oc- tober, so EU parliaments have time to ratify it before Britain leaves the bloc on March 29, 2019. The House of Lords backed an amendment to the government’s key Brexit bill to give Parliament decision- making power on the outcome of negotiations with the EU – including the power to call off the divorce. PIRATE ATTACK OFF SURINAME LEAVES 16 MISSING, FEARED DEAD PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) – Sixteen fishermen are missing and feared dead after pirates raided their boats off the coast of Suriname and forced them to jump overboard, au- thorities in the South Amer- ican country said Monday. The fishermen were part of a group of 20 in four boats who were attacked off the At- lantic coast of Suriname, said Cmdr. Jerry Slijngard of the Surinamese Coast Guard. Four men managed to swim to shore and three of them remain hospitalized. They told police and the Coast Guard that the assailants, suspected of coming from neighboring Guyana because of their accents, beat them with machetes and forced them to jump into the sea. They said some of the victims had batteries tied to their legs to weigh them down. Coast Guard and police vessels, along with mem- bers of the Fisheries Col- lective Association, have searched for the missing men and the pirates since the at- tack late Friday. “We are still searching the area with family members of the fishermen, hoping for a miracle,” said Mark Lall, president of the Fisheries Collective Association. Small-scale piracy has long been a fact of life along the largely undevel- oped coasts of Suriname and Guyana, which lie on the northeastern shoulder of South America. But this level of violence is rare. Lall said a captain of a Surinamese vessel was killed by pirates in February when he put up resistance during a robbery. He called on the govern- ment to increase maritime police and Coast Guard pa- trols and said local fish- ermen have been too fearful to go out to sea to work since Friday’s attack.Next >