The first two court orders since the Explain Your Wealth Bill was passed seven months ago were handed down in the Supreme Court yesterday.
This was confirmed by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi at Bayshore, Marabella where the keys to 30 starter houses through the Housing Ministry’s Housing and Village Improvement Programme (HVIP) were handed out.
Al-Rawi did not want to breach the privileges or compromise the process by disclosing any details about the persons involved and who had been called to explain and account for their wealth.
Delighted to have been the author of the Bill, he said this could not have happened on a better day as yesterday was Anti-Corruption Day.
Saying that there are other matters in the works, he said, “These orders have the potential to radically change T&T. As you know it is part of taking the profit out of crime, it is a very significant development. This is the civil aid to law enforcement, it is the point where people have to explain themselves to a court of law, to nobody else but a court of law, it is driven by the T&T Police Service.”
He added, “Six speed guns cause this country to slow down imagine what unexplained wealth orders will do to people making sure they act properly in terms of society and money and criminality. We are intent in taking the profit out of crime and this is the way you start doing it.”
Al-Rawi said following the ex-parte orders which were done yesterday, the other party will then put forward its case to the court. “What happens after that if you can’t explain your wealth, you will lose your wealth. You, of course, have the right to appeal.”
Responding to concerns about the demonetization of the $100 bill by December 31, he said the Central Bank has gone about it the right way.
“We encourage people to listen to the Central Bank to get into the system. This is the way you tackle national security concerns of corruption, fraud, money laundering, criminality. We have to take the profit out of crime.”
Al-Rawi said the December 31 deadline has been established into law so there will be no extension.
“We encourage people to comply with 31st December date and please let us avoid being last minuted,” he said.
Al-Rawi said that Christmas was a great opportunity to demonetize the currency and said he is expecting a mini-boom in terms of the amount of expenditure that will take place around that time.”
He recalled that in his contribution to the debate on this that in one year there were $25.5 billion in suspicious transactions and$13 billion was in cash. Al-Rawi also noted that the Government is tackling the corruption issue which in one year alone saw 25.5 billion dollars in suspicious transactions and 13 odd billion dollars in cash.
With regards to the Banking Sector unable to currently process the polymer bills at the Automated Teller Machines, he said adjustments can be made.
The AG noted that there are 80 million notes which equates to $8 billion in the system. With the vast majority of that money already in the system, he said once that is swapped out then it is just a matter of managing the rest in circulation in an orderly fashion.