The sudden explosion of money

Jun 27, 2013 Editorial

Guyana might be a poor country but there are people who are filthy rich. Some of them are so rich that there is no way that they can keep track of the money they have. However, being rich was at one time associated with what is called old money. This is money that would have come from legitimate enterprises over the years, and a lot of it.
Guyana has had its share of old moneyed business in the form of Kirpalanis, the Vieiras, Bettencourt, Psaila Brothers and a long list of others. However inflation and a downturn in the scope of legitimate business miniaturized the old business. They sold out; among them was the empire that was once called the Booker Enterprises. In the end those businesses that were household names simply changed hands.
The landscape soon became dotted with businesses created by the nouveau riche. And it is this nouveau riche that has expanded the horizons. They have radically changed the operations of the old businesses. They have been accused of breaching the ethics, of being unscrupulous (which is something that is supposed to be common to all businessmen) and unlike their predecessors, they do not rely exclusively on the banking system.
These are the people for whom the banking system is a hindrance, something that allows for the limited movement of their funds because the world is watching and the new businessmen are notorious tax dodgers. As things stand now, there is a drive to track suspicious transactions— money that goes to fund illegal and nefarious activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering and terrorist activities.
In fact, these are the activities that helped create the nouveau riche. In Guyana the drug trade helped create more money than some of these people ever saw in one place. This money is so much that it is too much to be deposited into a commercial bank at any one time.
The developed world which seems to be constantly fighting terrorists is now forced to cut off the supply chain and this means curtailing the funds to these illicit groups. The United States has devoted its time to tracking money in every corner of the world.
Of course, anyone who does business with only cash has money that cannot be traced. It also cannot be banked in bulk. This pattern of economic activity continues except that the establishment monitors the volume of business and notes the transaction, even if for income tax purposes.
Until recently, some Third World leaders who accessed money destined for their country would bank these sums outside their borders without any questions asked.  Before long, they had huge accounts.  This is still the case but the information is not secret. These accounts can be seized and have been.
For some Guyanese there are many such accounts.  The drive to pass anti-money laundering legislation is to track some of this money. People have tons of cash in their possession but cannot get it into the established system. The holder of such cash would be hard pressed to explain how he came by the money which could then be seized. It is this situation that now has people wondering at the sudden explosion of wealth in some circles. People who had no money can suddenly buy sporting franchises at tremendous cost.
Guyana does not allow for easy access to financial records of people who engage in public affairs. In this case there should have been information on the cost of the franchise and later, the amount of money being put for the branding of the franchise.
In any traditional business world there would have been an announcement of the amount of money spent. The people of Guyana are in the dark. They have no knowledge of the source of the money paid for the franchise and now for the branding of the franchise; they have no idea of what the branding of the franchise entails.
And to make matters worse, the government has not been asking any questions.