The Antigua and Barbuda Parliament has passed landmark legislation imposing fines of up to one million Eastern Caribbean dollars on individuals or companies convicted of refusing to provide electronic information to law enforcement during criminal investigations. According to Antigua News Room, the Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill was piloted by Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin.
Benjamin told legislators the new measures are designed to address longstanding obstacles investigators face when attempting to obtain digital records and data needed to solve crimes.
"The police would need evidence of pinging from telephones, different posts, et cetera, to get a trace of how crimes have been committed. But the service providers are refusing to do so," Benjamin said.
Under the amended legislation, a person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a production order within the specified time faces a fine of up to EC$100,000, imprisonment, or both upon summary conviction. Penalties increase significantly upon conviction on indictment, rising to a fine of up to EC$1 million, imprisonment for up to seven years, or both.
The Attorney General said the government was particularly concerned about cases in which local managers of telecommunications companies and other service providers claimed they could not comply with requests because instructions had to come from overseas headquarters.
"Some of their supervisors and managers are overseas. We have broadened this now. We are naming the managers who are here, the people in control of the company," Benjamin said. He made clear that companies operating in Antigua and Barbuda must cooperate with lawful requests for information rather than delay investigations by deferring to foreign-based executives.
During parliamentary debate, Education Minister Daryll Matthew revealed he had personally fallen victim to a sophisticated financial crime. "I fell victim to financial crime," Matthew said, noting that his bank is currently handling the matter.
The bill also drew support from the opposition. One legislator stated, "I think the government is doing quite an admirable thing in coming to the Parliament to ensure that information can be retrieved from them."
The government described the amendments as part of a broader effort to strengthen the country's capacity to investigate cybercrime, financial fraud, and other offences that increasingly rely on digital communications and electronic records.
