In a decisive move to modernize the country’s criminal investigation framework, the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda has approved sweeping amendments to the nation’s electronic crimes legislation, introducing unprecedentedly harsh financial penalties and potential prison time for individuals and corporate entities that refuse to surrender requested digital data to law enforcement during active criminal probes.
Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin, the lead sponsor of the Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill, told lawmakers the updated regulatory framework was crafted to resolve a persistent, years-long barrier that has stymied investigators working on cases ranging from financial fraud to violent organized crime. For years, Benjamin explained, service providers have repeatedly stonewalled police requests for critical digital evidence—including cell phone location pings, social media posts, and user activity logs that are essential to tracing the mechanics of criminal activity and building prosecutable cases.
“Police require this evidence to map out how crimes were committed, but providers have consistently refused to comply with these lawful requests,” Benjamin stated during parliamentary debate.
The new legislation outlines a tiered system of penalties for non-compliance. For defendants facing summary conviction, any individual or entity that fails to comply with a court-issued production order within the mandated timeframe—without a verifiable reasonable excuse—will be subject to fines reaching as high as 100,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars, alongside potential prison time, or both. For more severe charges brought by indictment, penalties jump to a maximum fine of one million Eastern Caribbean dollars, up to seven years of imprisonment, or both.
A key targeted provision addresses a common loophole that service providers have long used to delay investigations: passing the buck to overseas corporate headquarters. Benjamin noted that local managers of telecommunication firms and other digital service providers have frequently claimed they lack the authority to comply with information requests, insisting that formal approval must come from executives based outside the country. To close this gap, the amended legislation explicitly holds on-island managers and local executives legally responsible for complying with production orders. Any company operating within Antigua and Barbuda’s borders is now legally required to cooperate with lawful information requests, rather than shifting responsibility to foreign leadership to stall investigative progress.
The debate around the bill featured a personal testimony from Education Minister Daryll Matthew, who shared that he had recently fallen victim to a sophisticated financial scam, highlighting the urgent need for stronger digital investigation powers. “I was a target of financial crime,” Matthew confirmed, noting that his bank is currently working to resolve the incident.
Cross-party support for the legislation was widespread, with opposition lawmakers backing the government’s effort to streamline criminal investigations. One opposition legislator praised the initiative, noting that the government’s move to update regulatory powers to enable faster access to digital evidence was a commendable step forward for public safety.
Government officials emphasized that the amendments are just one component of a broader, long-term strategy to boost Antigua and Barbuda’s capacity to combat evolving criminal threats. As transnational cybercrime, financial fraud, and other modern offenses increasingly depend on digital communications and electronic record-keeping, updating legal frameworks to allow for timely evidence gathering has become a critical priority for national security.