IPB Staff Writer
Island Press Box – Five years. Multiple court orders. Two threats of prison time. Money still unpaid. Yet Brian Stuart-Young, CEO of Global Bank of Commerce (GBC), continues to dine lavishly with government officials while allegedly thumbing his nose at Antigua’s judiciary.
On April 11th, 2025, Judge Renee Williams had enough. In open court, he delivered a stark warning to Stuart-Young: “If the payment due is not paid in full by the 16th May, you will spend 21 days in Her Majesty’s Prison. Do you understand what I am telling you?”
Stuart-Young said he understood. But what followed was another act in a long-running farce—only part of the payment was made, to the wrong account, in Eastern Caribbean dollars rather than U.S. dollars as required.
After years of legal delays, partial compliance, and what many see as calculated evasion, Antiguans are left asking: Is Brian Stuart-Young above the law?
Court Orders Ignored, Justice Delayed
In November 2022, the High Court ordered GBC and Stuart-Young personally to repay over $10 million to investor Jack Stroll and another depositor by January 6, 2023. That deadline came and went.
The court held Stuart-Young individually liable—a rare and serious decision. Yet, as of June 2024, the money remained unpaid.
Even more staggering is the silence of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), which should have intervened to protect depositors. Instead, it has remained inert.
When IPB contacted GBC’s spokesperson, Sasha Stuart-Young Southwell, she insisted that the latest deadline was met in full and that documents filed on April 30th in court would show this.
She declined to comment on the bank’s alleged “liquidity issues.”
Stuart-Young-Southwell believes media is sensationalising the issue, noting how the original figure of $10m is still being quoted in media, but is now far less. It is of course a “complex matter,” she asserted.
Parliament’s Deposit Insurance Bill – Too Little, Too Late?
Ironically, as Stuart-Young continues to flout court rulings, Antigua and Barbuda’s Parliament has approved the Eastern Caribbean Deposit Insurance Corporation Agreement Bill 2025—a regional safeguard aimed at protecting depositors in the event of bank failures.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne cited the country’s turbulent banking past—including the collapses of ABI Bank, Bank of Antigua, and Caribbean Union Bank (CUB)—as justification for the legislation. “This country suffered fiscal failure, economic failure, and bank failure all at once… we must put systems in place to avoid repeating that history,” he said.
Yet, in laying out this grim history, the Prime Minister made no mention of Global Bank of Commerce or the deepening crisis now unfolding under his watch.
The bill introduces fines of up to EC $500,000 for non-compliant banks. The question now is: Will these penalties ever be used against GBC—or is the law only for some?
Mockery of the System
The audacity on display is astounding. At a civil hearing in March 2024, Stuart-Young was ordered to respond to 104 questions under Clause 44.7—questions raised by the very legal team he had cited. He ignored the deadline. Was he jailed? No. He was given another week. And then another.
Investors, legal observers, and ordinary citizens alike are left to wonder: what exactly is going on behind closed doors?
The Prime Minister once described Stuart-Young as “not a crook.” But words are not justice. And to Jack Stroll, the businessman who has spent years in court simply trying to recover what is legally his, the verdict is simple: “All I want is my money.”
A Safe Haven for Whom?
Global Bank of Commerce still markets Antigua as a “safe financial haven.” Stuart-Young once bragged that Antigua’s financial centre offers “a stable business environment to shelter from the storms of volatile economies.”
To investors who’ve spent years seeking redress, that message rings hollow.
This is no longer just a banking issue—it’s a test of Antigua and Barbuda’s legal system, regulatory framework, and democratic credibility. How long can one man defy the courts, dodge accountability, and damage the reputation of an entire country?
Because justice delayed is not just justice denied—it’s justice mocked.
