The Fifth Routes Americas, one of the largest events on the region’s airline industry’s calendar, will take place on Nassau and Paradise Island next week.

The three-day event, which runs February 19-21, will be hosted by Nassau Airport Development Co (NAD) and its key partners Atlantis Paradise Island and the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board.

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Two senior lawyers have called for the creation of a Bahamas Aircraft Registry, saying it could foster a host of related business and industries, creating jobs and spurring economic diversity.

“Discussions of a Bahamas Aircraft Registry have been going on and off for years,” says Callenders & Co senior partner Colin Callender.

“The establishment of a registry always seemed to be desirable, but distant. Today, there is a heightened sense of readiness and urgency. Thus, we at Callenders & Co are willing to take the lead in driving the process for the creation of a Bahamas Aircraft Registry without which we will continue to lose market share to other jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Aruba, which are equipped to be one-stop shops for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and with which we can diversity the economy, create jobs and potentially create an entirely new industry.”

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As white collar crime rises in the wake of the global economic crisis, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Bahamas is taking a proactive approach with the launch of its new forensic accounting division.

The department is led by forensic services manager Lenny Abrahams, a former police officer who was brought over from South Africa to help set up the new division.

“There has been a downturn in the economy and when that happens the incidents of fraud increase,” says Abrahams, who has been at the helm of the forensic department for three months and says PwC can assist businesses with setting up controls so that fraud can be detected quickly. “We need to address this proactively to minimize losses. It is not something you just deal with as it comes along.”

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The Caribbean Regional Compliance Association (CRCA) has announced that the sixth annual Regional Compliance Conference will be held in Trinidad March 1-2, with additional Excel Workshop to follow on the March 3.

A comprehensive, networking opportunity for professionals in the compliance, regulatory, and anti-money laundering sectors of the financial services industry, the conference will bring together compliance professionals throughout the region with an international line up of speakers, sponsors and delegates.

The award-winning journalist and best selling author Antonio Nicaso will be providing the key note address titled Follow the Money.

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Ten professionals from a cross-section of sectors have wrapped up a week of intense mediator training organized by the London School of Mediation.

According to the school’s director, senior barrister Jonathan Dingle, The Bahamas is well positioned to offer offshore mediation to countries such as the United States, or even Cuba.

“It’s a neutral place where people can come and mediate their solutions. It’s geographically convenient for major trade centres,” says Dingle, who over the last couple of years has worked in the Cayman Islands, the US, Canada, and the British Virgin Islands.

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Prince Harry will be visiting The Bahamas next month, as he visits the commonwealth country to celebrate the Queen’s Royal Jubilee.

The prince is touring the region to commemorate his grandmother’s 50-year reign.
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The Central Bank of The Bahamas has appointed Abhilash Bhachech as inspector of banks and trust companies, it announced at the end of last week.

Bhachech assumes office officially on Monday, February 13, 2012.

Bhachech’s career experience includes public accounting, management consulting, banking, information technology enterprise in financial services and a senior financial regulatory role in the public sector.

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The Insurance Commission of The Bahamas has announced the appointment of Michele Fields as the Superintendent of Insurance.

Fields is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having qualified with KPMG (formerly Peat Marwick Mitchell) in London in 1982.

Upon her return to The Bahamas, she was admitted as a member of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants and worked with KPMG in Nassau from 1982 to 1994.

In 1994, she joined the management team of Global Life Assurance Bahamas Ltd (now Colina Insurance Ltd).

During her tenure at Colina, she held the positions of financial controller, chief risk officer, vice president of group and corporate administration and company secretary of the BISX-listed parent company.

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