MP Simon ridicules PM Browne’s latest responses to Stroll-GBC dispute as ludicrous and insane rhetoric intended to deflect

“Bordering on ludicrous” is how MP Kelvin “Shugy” Simon is
describing recent statements by Prime Minister Gaston Browne
concerning the dispute between businessman Jack Stroll and the
Global Bank of Commerce (GBC).
 
Warning Stroll not to involve him in the matter, Browne says that his
government is not a regulatory agency and therefore will not
become engaged in the money dispute between Stroll and the bank.

Then, brazenly implying that the United Progressive Party has
advocated that the Government use taxpayers’ money to honour the
bank’s obligation, Browne begs the question by saying he will not do
it.

In response to Browne’s statements, made over the weekend, MP
Simon says the prime minister’s comments are not only beyond
absurd, but they appear to be an idle attempt to change the
narrative and perform a mind trick on the people.

He adds that PM Browne has completely deflected from the situation
and has constructed a sequence of events that bears no relation to
the truth.
 
The MP says it is his understanding that Stroll has never requested
that the Government pay the debt owed to him by the GBC.
Further, Simon declares that no member of the United Progressive
Party (UPP), including himself, has ever promised Stroll that the
Government will assume his financial losses should the Party take
office.
 
He says that Browne’s assertion that the Party would make such a
promise is “a leap into the realms of complete insanity and absurd
rhetoric.”
 
The Opposition MP notes that Browne always tries to drag the UPP
into his responses; but, he says, the issue here is the continued poor
judgment of Prime Minister Browne, who is also the minister of
finance.

Simon had written to Browne last week in support of Stroll, his
constituent, and urged Browne to intervene in the matter, with a
view to settling the dispute.

He says that Browne simply cannot divorce himself from the
responsibilities that come with being head of the Government –
particularly with respect to the regulation of the banking sector by
the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC).

He insists that there needs to be proper regulation of Global Bank –
and any other financial institution under the watch of the FSRC – in
order to prevent “this absolutely shocking affair” from recurring.
 
Given the current state of affairs, Simon wonders whether the FSRC
is not concerned by Global Bank’s inability to pay its depositors and
whether it will intervene to protect the financial integrity of Antigua
and Barbuda.

Moreover, he says it is alarming that the Government permits funds
from the National Development Fund – through Citizenship by
Investment applicants – to be deposited in an offshore bank whose
solvency is clearly questionable.

“This raises serious questions about the fiscal responsibility and
ethical governance under Prime Minister Browne’s administration,”
the St. Mary’s South MP says.

With a prime minister and minister of finance like Gaston Browne,
Simon says it is now clear why the Antigua Labour Party
Administration has failed to attract reputable investors.

According to court records, Stroll had deposited more than US$10
million into GBC; but for the past couple of years, he has been unable
to withdraw these funds and is accusing the bank of being insolvent.
 
Initially, Prime Minister Browne – who is the minister of finance
–had indicated that Stroll’s funds had been invested in “national

development;” and he accused Stroll of being greedy and politically
motivated for seeking to withdraw his own money.