Grenada International Financial Services Authority

The Grenada International Financial Services Authority has revoked the licenses of one offshore bank and four offshore insurers and issued warnings against three other companies that have no licenses.The companies whose licenses have been revoked, as reported by the Associated Press, are: Allied General Bank Ltd., Acclaim General Insurance Co. Ltd., Caribbean American Professional & Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd., Inter-American Professional & Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd., United Assurance Co. Ltd. and Insurance Financial Risk Inc.

The future of the Imperial Consolidated Group has been thrown into doubt after regulators in Grenada took administrative control of its offshore bank. Imperium Bank cannot make any financial disbursements without the consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is conducting a 15-day review of its books at the behest of the government.

There has been considerable activity in Grenada over the last month as regulators belatedly try to get to grips with the fact that at least one-third of all banks incorporated on the island appear to be scams. The Grenada International Financial Services Authority, a newly-formed body designed to better regulate the offshore sector, has held several meetings to discuss the First International Bank of Grenada.