Madam Speaker,
I rise today in this honourable House with profound gratitude: gratitude for the opportunity to represent the beautiful people of Cat Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador, and gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of this nation over the past three and a half years.
When this administration took office in September 2021, we faced a number of challenges: a struggling economy, a diminished economic outlook, record levels of unemployment, and a financial services industry on track to be blacklisted.
We weren’t compliant with the Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendations, and our legislative framework was not yet prepared to address the rapid changes reshaping the global financial landscape.
To put it plainly, Madam Speaker, we faced a situation where progress needed to be accelerated on all fronts.
We went to work from day one to get our economy and our nation back on track.
We still have a long road ahead, but we are undeniably moving in the right direction.
Through sound decision-making and data-driven policies, we are addressing our fiscal and economic challenges.
Our economy has shown encouraging signs of growth, outperforming international projections.
While international agencies had projected growth rates between 1.5% and 2% for 2024, the actual figures from the Bahamas National Statistical Institute indicate real GDP growth of 3.4% for 2024.
This cannot be explained away as “good luck” nor is it the inevitable outcome of post-COVID growth.
Many other countries with similar tourism and service-based economies have not been so fortunate. Yet, for consecutive years, we have outpaced the predictions of analysts and experts.
It is clear that our approach to managing and growing our economy has yielded promising results.
Our GDP now stands at $14.1 billion in real terms, which is the largest our economy has ever been, exceeding pre-pandemic GDP figures in 2019 by over 1.5 billion.
There is nothing inevitable about this level of growth.
Instead, what we see is the product of record levels of investment, widespread infrastructural development throughout New Providence and the Family Islands, expanded opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship for Bahamians, and disciplined stewardship of our major industries, including financial services.
Madam Speaker,
We are encouraged by the progress we’ve seen, but we also recognise that our work is far from done.
Every step forward reminds us of how much further we still need to go.
We won’t be satisfied until we have an economy that offers opportunities to all Bahamians.
We won’t rest until we drive down the cost of living and ensure that every Bahamian can lead a life of dignity, security, and stability.
And we won’t let up until we unleash the full potential of our financial services industry as the second pillar of our economy.
Our goal is to offer the best opportunities for investment in the world, with Bahamian professionals leading the way to growth and innovation.
Over the past few years, we have made important progress toward this goal.
The EU removed us from their blacklist last year, and, just a few days ago, France followed suit.
Under our watch, The Bahamas became just the sixth country in the world to achieve “largely compliant” status with all 40 Financial Action Task Force Recommendations.
This achievement speaks to our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of financial transparency and integrity.
Our Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Countering the Financing of Proliferation (CPF) framework has never been stronger.
We will continue to lead the way, staying atop global trends for digital assets and registered exchanges through regular amendments to our DARE Act and ensuring smooth implementation of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up tax to keep us aligned with international tax standards while creating a valuable new revenue stream from the largest and wealthiest multinational corporations.
We’re also transforming the infrastructure supporting our financial services sector through the digital Corporate Administrative Registry Service Portal, which has eliminated the need for in-person visits and paper-based forms.
In the rapidly changing world of financial services, we’ve stayed nimble, rolling out key amendments and systems to maintain our competitive edge in key markets.
Madam Speaker,
None of this would be possible without the exceptional Bahamian professionals who are the true driving force behind our success.
These talented individuals – our local financial advisors, accountants, insurance professionals, attorneys, compliance officers, and so many others – are the beating heart of our financial services industry.
People often wonder how we’ve consistently punched above our weight in this competitive industry over the years. The answer is simple: we have arguably the highest levels of financial services talent per capita in the world.
Bahamian excellence is our competitive advantage.
Day in and day out, our professionals innovate and adapt to ensure that we continue to lead the way as a world-class financial services jurisdiction.
They have been absolutely instrumental in the progress we’ve made throughout the years, and our continued success will be impossible without them. So, I must express my gratitude to the many stakeholders who have worked with us to keep this sector moving in the right direction.
Madam Speaker,
The compendium of Bills before us today reflects our sustained commitment to strengthening our financial services sector and maintaining our status as compliant with all 40 of the FATF’s 40 Recommendations.
These nine Bills collectively ensure that we comply with international standards, promote transparency and accountability, and strengthen our anti-money laundering framework.
Key among these amendments is the Register of Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Bill 2025, which closes critical gaps in our transparency framework.
This Bill shines a light on nominee arrangements, where someone holds shares on behalf of someone else, bringing them under full transparency requirements by ensuring that the person on whose behalf the nominee acts is treated as a beneficial owner.
This Bill also dramatically shortens reporting timelines from 15 days to just 24 hours, ensuring that when beneficial ownership changes, we know about it almost immediately.
Through this Bill, we are ensuring compliance with the FATF’s Recommendation 24 to prevent the misuse of nominee arrangements for money laundering.
Another important Bill, the Financial Transactions Reporting Amendment Bill, strengthens how our financial institutions verify who they’re doing business with.
It mandates regular reviews of customer information based on risk. Reviews will occur every year for high-risk clients, every 3 to 5 years for medium-risk clients, and every 5 to 10 years for low-risk relationships.
It also expands trustee definitions to cover similar roles in other legal arrangements.
In doing so, we are strengthening our approach to customer due diligence and risk-based supervision, which are core elements of FATF Recommendations 10 and 24.
Madam Speaker,
Today, we are also debating the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Bill, which gives our authorities the power to go after the money that supports criminal activity across borders.
This Bill expands the definition of “property” to cover all types of assets, and, most significantly, it introduces evidence sharing and global asset recovery processes that enable cooperation with foreign countries to freeze and reclaim criminal proceeds, even when those assets are hidden abroad.
This Bill also provides a comprehensive definition of what constitutes a “connection with a case in The Bahamas” as a condition for a Bahamian court to enforce a property freezing order or civil forfeiture order outside of The Bahamas, or to request evidence in relation to an investigation.
In introducing these amendments, we will ensure compliance with FATF Recommendations 36 and 38 to support cross-border evidence sharing and asset recovery.
For the first time, a Bahamian court will be able to seek enforcement of a judgment issued in The Bahamas in respect of proceeds of crimes that happen in a foreign jurisdiction.
The criminals of today operate across borders. Now our law enforcement and justice systems can do the same.
Madam Speaker,
Next, we have the Companies Amendment Bill and the International Business Companies Amendment Bill.
These Bills work together to bring us into compliance with the updated FATF Recommendation 24 to end any possibility of puppet nominee directors taking directives from hidden beneficial owners.
Under these Bills, nominee directors will be banned from sitting on the Boards of Bahamian corporate entities. This prevents those who are simply acting for someone else from holding directorial positions in Bahamian companies.
With the introduction of these Bills, where a subscriber or shareholder holds his shares for another as a nominee, it will be specified in the memorandum and on the register. A declaration of trust will also be completed, naming the beneficiaries for whom the shares are held. And the identity and relevant particulars of the person on whose behalf the shares are held must be provided to the Register of Beneficial Ownership.
This level of transparency is good for business, good for compliance, and good for our reputation.
Madam Speaker,
We also have before us today a number of Bills to update our trust framework.
The Trustee Amendment Bill expands who can seek court guidance on trusts and clarifies the role of power holders, such as protectors. It defines what a “power holder” is as someone with influence over trust decisions.
And it allows these power holders, and not just trustees, to seek private legal opinions on trust administration when needed.
We are striking the right balance between transparency, legal representation for power holders, and, most importantly, privacy.
We value the privacy that our trust industry provides and it is our intention to maintain that privacy.
Accompanying this Bill, we have the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Amendment Bill, which ensures trust proceedings can remain confidential.
We are protecting client privacy while maintaining our competitive edge and adhering to international compliance standards.
This Bill introduces strong privacy protections for trust-related court proceedings, requiring courts to consider public morality, the welfare of minors, the public interest, public safety and order, and the open justice principle before allowing public access.
In the world of trust services, privacy balanced with appropriate transparency is essential. These Bills strike that balance perfectly.
Madam Speaker,
Today, we are also debating the Arbitration Amendment Bill, which brings trusts fully under the umbrella of arbitration, offering a private, faster, and internationally respected alternative to formal civil proceedings to resolve disputes.
It allows trusts to require arbitration for internal disputes, strengthens confidentiality protections, gives tribunals similar powers to courts when it comes to trust administration, and clarifies the options for challenging or appealing arbitration decisions on legal grounds under this new framework.
This further cements The Bahamas’ ambitions to become a premier jurisdiction for international commercial and trust arbitration, a growing and lucrative field that will expand opportunities for Bahamian legal professionals.
The final Bill before us today is the Non-Profit Organisations Amendment Bill, which clarifies the role of the Registrar for Non-Profits as a distinct authority and authorises the Registrar to delegate duties, ensuring smoother administration and flexibility.
Madam Speaker,
These nine Bills demonstrate our unwavering commitment to meeting international standards while maintaining our strength as a financial jurisdiction.
They improve our ability to prevent financial crime while protecting legitimate privacy interests.
They enhance our competitiveness in key sectors like trusts, corporate services, and arbitration.
And they provide clarity and certainty to financial services providers and their clients.
Madam Speaker,
As we implement reforms, we do so with a clear vision: to create a financial services sector that is modern, transparent, compliant, efficient, and trusted by investors worldwide.
To achieve this vision, we must keep our momentum going.
Let’s continue outperforming forecasts and avoiding blacklists.
Let’s continue advocating for fairness in the application of standards and rules on the global stage to ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules and has the same opportunities for success.
And, most importantly, let’s continue building a sector and an economy that is ripe with opportunity for Bahamians.
This compendium represents an important step forward in achieving these objectives.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.