BVIEC contract
Delta Petroleum was awarded two major contracts last week
to provide the BVI Electricity Corporation with fuel to run its generators and vehicle fleet, officials said. At a signing ceremony held Friday at the law firm O’Neal Webster, BVIEC General Manager Leroy Abraham said Delta’s $76.8 million bid for the two-year generator fuel contract and its $245,000 vehicle fuel contract bid were both successful. Sol [BVI] had bid $79.1 million for the generator fuel contract and $283,000 for the vehicle fuel contract. The Huntums Ghut Service Station had placed a $270,000 bid for the vehicle fuel contract.
Higher fines
The House of Assembly is considering requiring significantly higher penalties for money laundering and using funds linked to criminal activity, according to the Gazette. Government’s official newspaper published a copy of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct [Amendment] Act 2012 last Thursday. The proposed amendment updates eight sections of the act, raising some fines to as much as $500,000. In its reviews of the governing structure of the territory’s financial services sector, organisations such as the Financial Action Task Force have advocated for the change, arguing the previous fines were too low.
Banking scam
Some customers of the Virgin Islands branch of Scotiabank have received scam e-mails asking them to reset or reactivate their accounts via a website. Scammers use the website, which is fake, to steal customers’ information, according to Joycelyn Murraine, the branch’s managing director. Ms. Murraine said in a press release that the bank will never ask customers for personal information in an e-mail.