…Williams urges CFATF members to increase effectiveness to tackle financial crimes

CARIBBEAN countries have been urged to increase their levels of effectiveness in the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards amid heightened global risks of proliferation financing.

This was the charge given by Chairman of the Caribbean Action Task Force, Basil Williams SC, when he addressed the opening of the Caribbean Action Task Force Plenary and Working Groups Meeting being held in Bridgetown, Barbados over the next two days. Williams, who is also Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, is leading Guyana’s delegation to the conference.

He told the conference opening that coupled with the challenges of the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations, small member states are dealing with economies affected by low levels of financial growth, recovery from hurricanes and de-risking. “Resources are being stretched as we all use our best efforts to legislatively strengthen our AML/CFT frameworks, establish measures to deal with Proliferation Financing (PF) and implement the AML/CFT laws and processes that can be considered as ‘High’ or ‘Substantial’ levels of effectiveness,” Williams stressed.

He said under his tenure as chairman of the CFATF he was not daunted by these challenges, “instead, I was confident and remain confident that we as CFATF Members and as a Region will continue to improve our compliance with the FATF Standards and increase our levels of effective implementation.”

Williams told the meeting that the plenary meetings represent the Region’s ongoing commitment to the work of the CFATF as a member of the Global Network in the implementation of counter-measures to address Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Williams said during his term as Chair, CFATF has been able to assist with enhancing AML/CFT capacity in the Region through the hosting of Assessors’ Training in January of this year in Guyana. He said the event was followed by the AML/CFT/CVE Workshop for Judges and Prosecutors in May that saw the participation of forty participants from member countries comprising 15 judges, one Chief Magistrate and 24 Prosecutors, including; Directors of Public Prosecution, Deputy and Assistant Directors of Public Prosecution, Senior Crown Counsels, Principal Crown Counsel and Crown Counsel attended the workshop. Honourable Baroness Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary General also attended.
Williams also highlighted that during his participation in the Compliance Aid Conference in Miami, the High-Level Mission to St. Maarten and attendance at the FATF Plenary meetings, “I have advocated the work being done by the CFATF and our members, which is all aimed at improving our level of AML/CFT compliance. I am also happy to say that the 11th EDF Grant Agreement was successfully signed and is being implemented. This Project will provide much needed Fourth Round mutual evaluation funding directly for CFATF beneficiary members and also provide opportunities for participation for all CFATF Members.”

Additionally, Williams noted that during the past year CFATF has seen capacity building at the Secretariat, in terms of new staff appointments with the new Executive Director, Dawne Spicer, commencing her tenure on February 1st of this year. There was also the appointment of Deputy Executive Director Joanne Daniel, who took up the post on September 1st. This was followed by the revision of the Secretariat’s Organisational Chart and the appointment of Magdalene Walcott as the Director of Finance and Administration.
In addition to these senior management positions, a new Translator, Ayana Jack, and the appointment of Ellisha George as an Administrative Officer specifically dedicated to the Secretariat’s Mutual Evaluation Team. For the 11th EDF, Project Manager Andrew Frection and Senior Project Officer Beverley Perez have also become part of the CFATF. “To all of you I say congratulations on your appointments. I also take the opportunity to express my appreciation to all staff at the secretariat for their dedication and commitment to the membership. I had the opportunity to visit the secretariat in March of this year and see the operations firsthand.”

Williams stressed that CFATF has made progress in its Mutual Evaluation programme, noting that only one country St. Maarten has been left in Round Three, but following a High-Level Mission visit that he led in August, “I can say that there was a clear commitment to exiting the Third Round.”

In the Fourth Round he said there are five Mutual Evaluation Reports published (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda) and while the results could indeed be better, these countries continue to make progress.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a full agenda of relevant issues and the presentation of the Mutual Evaluation Report of the Cayman Islands, which allows us to focus on our primary function as a FATF-Style Regional Body (FSRB). Issues discussed in the Heads of FIU, CFATF Risk Trends and Methods (CRTMG) Working Group, CFATF International Cooperation Review Group (CFATF ICRG), and the Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) will all be presented over the next two days. Colleagues, your active participation in all discussions is essential to strengthening your understanding of the requirements of the FATF Standards and in so doing build our capacity as an organisation. Your active participation in the Mutual Evaluation process is crucial to the work of the organisation, while your engagement in the global discussions through responses to FATF documents allows us to have a much-needed Regional position on these important issues,” Williams told the opening.

During his remarks he also welcomed the body’s Cooperating and Supporting Nations (COSUNs), the FATF Secretariat and all observers, “who continue to place tremendous investment of human and financial resources over the years to assist our jurisdictions in building critical AML/CFT capacity. We value your generosity and remain committed to partnering with you throughout the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations and beyond.”