CHAIRMAN of the Caribbean Action Task Force, Attorney General Basil Williams, will lead a high-level delegation to St Maarten later this week as the body pushes the island to become compliant with Anti-Money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regulations.

Currently, St. Maarten is the only CFATF member country that is still in the 3rd Round of Mutual Evaluations Process (MEP). Following the adoption of St. Maarten’s Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) in 2012, they were placed in Enhanced Follow-Up by the Plenary. At the same time, St. Maarten also met the requirements for the FATF’s International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) process. They were therefore also placed in CFATF’s ICRG so that the CFATF could directly monitor St. Maarten’s progress. The CFATF’s ICRG Working Group for the 3rd Round dealt with ICRG matters and the follow-up process which begins after the approval of a MER. This was done with all CFATF members who were in the FATF ICRG process.

According to a CFATF release, based on a lack of significant progress in addressing the deficiencies noted in their 3rd Round MER (St. Maarten has been under review for five years. Plenary decided to apply the sanctions related to Enhanced Follow-Up. This resulted in a letter being sent by the CFATF Chairman Williams to St. Maarten in January 2017, discussing their lack of significant progress and encouraging them to move forward with their level of compliance. At the same time, St. Maarten was not making any significant progress in the CFATF ICRG.

The CFATF ICRG 3rd Round Procedures provide that the CFATF ICRG will apply sanctions where upon review the progress by jurisdiction is insufficient. The first stage is a letter to the jurisdiction by the CFATF Chairman and the second stage is “A high-level mission to be arranged to the Member jurisdiction to reinforce this message. This mission would meet with ministers and senior officials of the member’s government.” Additionally, a parallel provision exists under the CFATF 3rd Round Mutual Evaluation Procedures, which also provides that where progress is not being made, the second stage of Enhanced Follow-Up the action to be taken will be “A high-level mission would be arranged to the Member jurisdiction to reinforce this message. This mission would meet with ministers and senior officials.” Accordingly, the CFATF ICRG Working Group recommended and Plenary agreed that there will be a high-level mission to St. Maarten to discuss with senior officials, the outstanding deficiencies from their 3rd Round Mutual Evaluation Report. The same recommendation was made regarding their follow-up report.

On the mission Williams, SC will be accompanied by the CFATF Secretariat’s Executive Director, Ms. Dawne Spicer, Legal Advisor, Ms. Ana Folgar and the CFATF ICRG Working Group Co-Chair, Mr. Glenford Malone of the British Virgin Island.