T&T blacklisted for not aiding fraud probe

PARIS (CMC):

Two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, including oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago, are included in a list of countries blacklisted by France that do not help investigate foreign-aid fraud.

French officials said the list, which also includes Dominica, was drawn up after Paris decided that it would also be banning the use of their banks to help distribute development funds.

Aides to Development Minister Pascal Canfin were unable to say how much French foreign aid currently transits via banks in the countries featured on the new blacklist.

The blacklist expands on an already-established register of eight "non-cooperative states and territories" that includes Botswana, Brunei, Nauru, Guatemala and the Philippines.

The list now includes Switzerland, Lebanon, Panama, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Dominica, Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu.

French government officials justified the move by saying there was a lack of transparency in the countries, adding that poor and developing countries were often the main victims of fraud.

"The aim is primarily preventative, to put pressure on these countries by publicising this list to progress towards more transparency," they said.