…US Ambassador says real work to combat money laundering must now begin

UNITED STATES Ambassador Perry Holloway has said while CARICOM countries, including Guyana, have made great progress in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, the “real work” must now begin.

“Regardless of the stage in which you find yourself on the CFATF process, 75 per cent of the CARICOM countries have been able to exit the CFATF follow-up process, which means you must now begin the real work of identifying, investigating, prosecuting and convicting those participating in money laundering and terrorism financing,” Ambassador Holloway told officials from 19 countries, currently meeting in Guyana for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Assessors Training Forum.

Gathered at the opening ceremony were: Chairman of CFATF and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; CFATF Executive Director, Dawn Spicer; and financial experts and assessors.
Ambassador Holloway, said in an effort to safeguard financial institutions, countries in the region must meet the stringent criteria for the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation, as was done by Barbados, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. Guyana will come up for the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation in 2022.

CARICOM countries, he stressed, must understand the vulnerabilities in their financial systems and have their agencies work together locally and internationally to ensure proper investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.

“Ensure that financial institutions have implemented the proper rules regulations and technology to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorism financing,” the US Ambassador further urged, while underscoring the importance of complying with the laws and regulations governing the AML/CFT regime.

“Demonstrate that you are properly implementing laws and regulations and continue to strengthen them as necessary in order to investigate, prosecute and deter crimes of financial nature,” he added.

Ambassador Holloway also championed the cause for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and similar organs, noting that they must be properly funded and equipped to effectively use financial intelligence and other relevant information to investigate potential money laundering, terrorism and proliferation crimes. It is important that the information garnered is appropriately made available to prosecutors, he noted.

Meanwhile, Williams in his address explained that the training forum is designed to help assessors develop the skills needed to conduct Mutual Evaluations and by extension the formulation of a Mutual Evaluation Report. “This assessors training is an opportunity for you, the participants, to develop the necessary skills to conduct mutual evaluations, while also developing the understanding needed to produce a Mutual Evaluation Report aligned with the standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – Style Regional Bodies (FSRB),” the CFATF chairman said.

“The training is designed to assist you when you are conducting an assessment of a country’s compliance with the FATF standards. The training deals with the assessments of both technical compliance and effectiveness which will present an integrated analysis of the extent to which a country is compliant with the FATF standards, and how successful it is in maintaining a strong AML/CFT system as is required by the FATF recommendations,” Minister Williams explained.

Stating that Mutual Evaluation is a core function of CFATF, he noted that it entails a peer review of a country’s AML/CFT framework with the intent of assessing the existing system against the FATF recommendations. “The concept of a peer review means that each CFATF member is reviewed by other CFATF members and in that regard provides experts or assessors in the areas of legal, financial and law enforcement that will lead to the report being adopted by the CFATF plenary. This training is to ensure that you the experts understand and apply the FATF methodology correctly,” the Attorney General further explained.

He said that it is therefore necessary for assessors to develop the required techniques needed for a sound objective and concise assessment, especially since another country’s rating depends on their assessment.

COMMITTED TO FIGHT
That aside, Minister Williams said CFATF-Member States remain committed to the fight. “We all must be fully committed to the fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. These illicit activities not only undermine the integrity of our financial systems but threaten the political stability and damage the reputation of countries,” he stated.

The CFATF Executive Director, like the Attorney General, underscored the importance of having assessors effectively trained.

The participants were invited from several CFATF member states, and consist of Financial, Law Enforcement and Legal experts. It is expected that at the end of the forum, 53 participants will be trained as assessors, including individuals from Canada, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Belize and Guyana. The training forum is aimed at equipping the participants with the tools and competencies needed to undertake an assessment of the technical compliance with the revised FATF Recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

Participants will be introduced to the use of the FATF Methodology which is used to assess a country’s technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s AML/CFT system under the Fourth Round Mutual Evaluations process. During this Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations, FATF has adopted complementary approaches for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations, and for assessing the level of effectiveness of a country’s AML/CFT regime.