While not surprising due to the current worldwide “de-risking” trend, a decision by at least one Dutch Caribbean bank to close the accounts of lottery offices (see Saturday paper) does raise questions. Mind you, the measure was announced a while ago and postponed on several occasions since to give those involved space to look for alternatives, but it now appears November will be the final month.
Indications from within the sector are that efforts to seek different options have not proven successful so far and they may have to continue without bank accounts. How exactly that would work is not clear, but if it involves holding on to large amounts of cash this will create even bigger security issues for an already vulnerable and crime-sensitive activity.
At Robbie’s Lottery alone 120 jobs in Curaçao and 70 in St. Maarten are said to be at stake. At the same time, its owner’s conviction for money laundering, tax evasion and fraud no doubt played a role in his case.
Still, the company remains a legitimate enterprise with the necessary permits. What’s more, other lottery chains where no such irregularities have been reported are supposedly also affected.
But perhaps the biggest concern is that both islands have legal, government-regulated lotteries for which licences were issued to operators. Is a refusal to further do business with these by financial institutions that fall under supervision of the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) therefore justified?
The answer lies with so-called correspondent banks in the US that no longer want any – direct or indirect – ties with what they consider dubious parties like in the gaming industry, due to the threat of hefty fines. And without those American banking relations, international transactions in the monetary union could become difficult at best.
It seems that – certainly for now – there is little choice.
