Ralph Gonsalves

A French magistrate has ordered a criminal investigation into several people accused of offenses against fugitive offshore banker Thierry Nano.Among those named in the complaint are two U. S. FBI Agents, an alleged FBI informant, the Prime Minister and chief offshore regulator of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A claim by St Vincent &the Grenadines that it is serious about combating financial crime was dealt a blow on November 22 when it allowed suspected money launderer Thierry Nano to avoid an arrest warrant.Nano flew from the island on

Four offshore bankers were arrested by United States law enforcement agencies in November and charged with money laundering.Two more have also been charged with money laundering but are still at large after warrants were issued but not executed.Those arrested were

Rampart Securities, a Canadian stock brokerage which is said to be owed at least US$2 million by Atlas Securities of the Turks & Caicos Islands, has had its "membership rights and privileges" suspended by the Investment Dealers Association of Canada; Regulators in St. Vincent have revoked the Class I international banking license of Maxi Bank Inc.; A Canadian crook who goes by the name of 'Sir Daniel Kingsley Lear' has been involved in a bizarre tax fraud trial in Manitoba, Canada; Four more people have been sentenced for their involvement in a $64 million fraud carried out in the names of Hammersmith Trust, Microfund and Luxor Capital Markets; Bahamas-based Oceanic Bank and Trust Limited has opened a marketing office in London, England; and La Comisión Nacional de Valores in Panama has launched investigations into the activities of Morrison Cross Financial Investment Ltd. and Britex International Ltd.