Telecoms giant blocks Cayman regulator from offices
Flow office, George Town, Grand Cayman
(CNS Business): An attempt by the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) to enter the main Cayman office of Cable and Wireless this week was met with a refusal, officials from the regulator have confirmed. Over the last few months the firm, which now trades under the brand name Flow, has been under the watchful eye of the authority due to a number of potential breaches of its licence obligations. The company is also understood to be under the scrutiny of the immigration department over the status of some senior managers. But when ICTA staff went to Flow’s HQ Wednesday in order to obtain documents, they did not receive a warm welcome.
ICTA Managing Director Alee Fa’amoe said that the authority was “continuing its investigation into certain aspects of the operations of licensee Cable & Wireless Cayman Islands Ltd”, separate and apart from those being carried out by the immigration department. But he said that there appeared to have been a misunderstanding about the regulator’s rights this week.
“While we cannot comment on the details of any ongoing investigations, we can confirm that the authority seeks records which exist at CWCIL offices to help clarify a number of issues which have come to our attention in the course of recent investigations. Unfortunately, there was some confusion today about the remit of the ICTA to conduct such inspections and forensic audits,” Fa’amoe stated via email on Wednesday evening.
“We hope to clarify matters with CWCIL in the days to come without having to resort to punitive measures,” he added.
CNS Business contacted Flow but officials have not yet responded to questions about the issues the largest communication company on island is facing.
Less than two months ago the ICTA raised concerns over “irregularities” in relation to the company’s licensing obligations but it also raised the alarm over the immigration status of at least two senior managers at the company and their legal position as spokesmen for the firm, which is in talks with the ICTA regarding the takeover by Liberty Global. The ICTA stated that it had stopped the negotiations until those issues were addressed.
Category: Local Business, Telecommunications
