Former finance minister Bob Richards has warned of “catastrophic” consequences if Bermuda does not heed a series of international dangers.

The island’s OECD assessment is up for renewal, Mr Richards said, while a blacklist threat still lurks from the European Union’s Code of Conduct Group, and the eyes of the Financial Action Task Force will be cast over Bermuda next year.

Mr Richards, who handed over the finance ministry baton to David Burt, the Premier, after the General Election on July 18, told The Royal Gazette: “These three hurdles are, I believe, do or die for Bermuda.

“It’s ironic that this never got on the radar screen during the election, but they are the most important things moving forward.

“Failure to clear any of these three hurdles could be catastrophic for Bermuda.”

Mr Richards warned reinsurance companies based on the island, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, would leave if Bermuda was noncompliant.

“When you are a public company like that, you can’t be located in a country that’s noncompliant,” he said.

“These are the biggest threats to Bermuda, from the private sector to government people.”

He credited Mr Burt for forming a Cabinet committee to look at anti money-laundering efforts, which will be the subject of the FATF assessment next year.

But he reiterated his concerns that the Code of Conduct Group appears to be working with a premeditated conclusion that Bermuda should be placed on an economic blacklist because it is a tax haven that is harmful to the global economy.