2020 BES TOFBK .COM
Caribbean L 6 ife, December 13-19, 2019
New money to help fight crime
dering, the financing of narcotic drugs,
the trade in high powered firearms,
massive tax evasion, minimizing a
thriving counterfeit market and countering
what officials call millions of
dollars circulating in the underground
or black market economy. “The criminal
element who must now present
their money and say where it came
from.”
As the deadline nears, hundreds of
locals have joined long, snaking lines
at various commercial banks to comply
with the new regulations but the
local Muslim community is up in arms
against the move as it is their practice
not to deposit their monies in the
banking system for religious regions.
They are regarded as the local bed mattress
brigade.
At least one group said this week
that it plans to file a constitutional
motion against authorities, saying that
Muslims do not normally deal with the
banking system because Islamic law
forbids “the involvement of usury or
interest” from the banking system on
their business transactions. They now
fear that their non involvement with
the system would leave them with millions
of useless notes especially with
the Christmas peak business season
bringing in millions in transactions.
“Because of this prohibition, thousands
of Muslims opt to stay out of the
system and thus secure their funds in
different ways, all legal though. But
this law now puts them in a disadvantageous
situation and compels a
significant segment of the population
to compromise their religious beliefs,”
said spokesman Rasheed Karim of the
Muslim Federation Ummah of Trinidad
and Tobago as he urged authorities to
have some form of special consideration
for this religious group.
Meanwhile, police are being asked
to be on the watch out for narco traffickers
and others in the underworld
recruiting people to stand in bank
queues and exchange large sums for
them for a fee as they fear arrest if
they come forward. Police said they are
monitoring the situation.
The police service had been pressing
authorities to clamp down on organized
crime, blaming the ‘sector’ for the
spiraling murder rate, the presence
of hundreds of high powered combat
weapons in the system, drug trafficking
and money laundering. Minister
Young said the time had come to make
such a move, noting that “I advised
the cabinet that in order for us to
fight money laundering, including the
financing of drugs of drugs and narcotics
and illegal firearms, tax evasion and
the black money economy, counterfeiting
and other related problems, that
the government should withdraw from
circulation the current TT$100 note
issued by the central bank. These criminal
and corrupt activities are financed
by illicit money and in many instances
are supported and conducted through
the use of stored cash, which inter alia,
is difficult to trace,” he said.
But the system to force the population
to trade in their old currency has
run into some problems with stores
refusing to accept transactions in their
still legal period because the onus
would be on them rather than the holders
of the motes to then exchange them
at commercial banks.
The results is long lines at banks,
starting in some cases from as early
as daybreak. Officials expect this to
intensify even more as the peak holiday
seasons steps up and as the deadline
nears.
Continued from Page 1
Deed theft on the rise in Brooklyn
reach and knock on doors to raise awareness
about ‘deed theft’”.
In a separate email, Myrie, who represents
the 20th Senatorial District in
Brooklyn, said the team is “gearing up
for a big day this Saturday.”
“We’re going door-to-door with New
York Attorney General Letitia James and
Assembly Member Diana C. Richardson
to protect our homeowners from deed
theft,” he reiterated.
“If you have a few hours to help protect
some of the most vulnerable members
of our community, sign up to join
us,” he added, stating that three shifts
will be available: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm,
noon - 3:00 pm, and 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.
In October, the New York Times
reported that “a booming real estate
market in Brooklyn is fueling a crime
that law enforcement authorities say has
taken hold in largely African-American
neighborhoods that are being gentrified
— deed theft, which involves deceiving
or sometimes coercing a homeowner
into signing forms that transfer ownership
of a property.”
In many cases, the paper said a homeowner
is made to believe the documents
involve some type of financial assistance,
but added that “in fact turn out to be the
property deed.”
“Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown
Heights, both known for their collection
of largely intact townhouses that
cost a fraction of what similar homes sell
for in Manhattan, have become hotbeds
for deed theft,” said the Times, basing
the statement on information from law
enforcement authorities.
It said homeowners in Prospect
Heights, Brownsville and East New York
have also been targeted.
Alluding to data from the city’s
Department of Finance, the Times said,
of nearly 3,000 deed fraud complaints
recorded by the city since 2014, 1,350
— about 45 percent — have come from
Brooklyn. The borough accounts for
roughly 30 percent of the city’s housing
units, the paper said.
“It’s just a drop in the bucket,” it
quoted Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn dis-
Continued from Page 1