British prime minister raids dormant UK accounts

| 19/07/2010

(Bloomberg): UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to use “hundreds of millions of pounds” from dormant bank accounts to fund community projects, while Business Secretary Vince Cable said lenders “ripped off” customers. Cameron said he will press ahead with a proposal set out in the coalition government’s program to establish a “Big Society Bank” to finance moves by charitable groups and not-for-profit companies to take over jobs currently done by the government. “These unclaimed assets, alongside the private-sector investment that we will leverage, will mean that the Big Society Bank will over time make available hundreds of millions of pounds of new finance to some of the most dynamic social organizations in our country,” Cameron said in a speech in Liverpool, northwest England, today.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Isn’t it amazing how everyone jumped all over McKeeva for what he did here and yet you dont hear a single complaint when the UK Prime Minister does the same thing?

    • Ex-Caymanian & Not by Choice says:

      SHUT UP, XXXXX, will he do the same as the UK Prime Minister? in the UK PM announcement he states what HIS intentions are for these dormant accounts, now bear in mind what actually happens with the money IS another thing!!!  as with every politician the are magicians with money, they know how to make money sudden disappear into thin air…..

    • Anonymous says:

      I dont think any government of any country should have a right to assume ownership of dormant money no matter where it is held or for how long unless every effort has been made to identify and return such money to the rightful owner and unless it can be established beyond doubt that such money is indeed dormant and belonging to nobody.

      Having said that, the UK’s 15 years sounds a whole lot more reasonable than McKeeva’s 6 years!  Perhaps thats why no so much ranting?

    • Mickey Mouse says:

      It is not "the same thing" since the period for dormancy is 15 years.  Now that would not have created the same howls on CNS.  6 years is not that long.

      The difference between 6 years and 15 years is probably one is illegal under the ECHR and one isn’t.

    • we r Cayman says:

      Why should we jump all over a story about what the PM in Britain is doing?

      We are concerned of what is done in Cayman!

      Still, after all is said, 15years is more common sense than 6 years!

  2. Durrrr says:

    15 years sounds reasonable.

  3. Rafaelle says:

    Monkey see monkey do desperate men do desperate things does not mean it is right! Don’t steal the Government hates competition? what an example to follow "A bankrupt Government"

  4. Anonymous says:

    Told you guys that McChavez thought himself higher than the Governor.  He (our self-acclaimed Prime Minister) has decided to follow suit and do the same thing in the Cayman Islands.  Now I suppose we will have to pay for a consultant and large crew to determine which bank accounts to raid.  Good-bye Cayman Islands, Hello the Republic of McKeeva,

    • Anonymouse says:

      The caption of the story says" British Prime Minister".

      Machater, Why would you not read before putting your hate brain into gear?

      You come off looking very PPM here.

      • Anonymous says:

        you come off looking very UDP here.

      • Anonymous says:

        No, you did not read the entire statement.  The post says "He (our self-acclaimed Prime Minister) has decided to follow suit and do the same thing in the Cayman Islands." 

        meaning….. the writer is simply stating that our LOGB is copying what is being done in the UK

      • Anonymous says:

        HAS NO ONE HERE REALIZED THAT THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DOES NOT HAVE TO ADDRESS A CONFIDENTIALITY PRESERVATION LAW THAT THE DICTATOR SHOULD HAVE TO ADDRESS? (WHEN THE ACCOUNT LIST MUST BE GAZETTED).

        OH; WHAT AM I SAYING??? A DICTATOR DOESN’T HAVE TO ADDRESS ANYTHING!

        If we’re going to change or break the confidentiality laws, why not go back from the beginning and get the 100s of millions of dollars that the banks have taken over the past 50 plus years. If we’re going to destroy our financial sector, we might as well get as much as possible to deal with our debt problems and since the banks are the ones who have already taken these funds… NO HARM DONE.

         

        • durrrr says:

          the repeal of the Confidential Relationships law has been on the cards for a long time now. I assume this means that it will happen sooner rather than later, and that it won’t be a problem to publish names under the new Data Protection law.

      • Pending says:

        Perhaps  the PM had been reading CNS and Big Macs idea of taking money out of dormant accounts down here…

    • TennisAce says:

       In case anyone is interested, there are various laws which allow governments the world over to seize assets which either lie dormant or which are ceded to the Crown as a result of an individual/company not being in compliance with the law.  

      There is the Proceeds of Criminal Law which allows the government to seize the assets of convicted criminals.  Under the Companies Law if a company is struck for a period in excess of 2 years, then the assets of the company go to the Crown.  In relation to land, if it lies idle and there are no claimants, the Crown can seek to claim by way of possession if there are unpaid taxes etc.  

      The forfeiting of monies held in accounts is also done in many countries of the world.  The problem with Cayman enforcing that is that publication of people’s bank details is protected under the Confidential Relationships Law so it will be interesting to see how the Government gets the banks and other financial institutions to provide them with the list of dormant accounts seeing as that is confidential information.