Regional Cooperation Urged to Strengthen Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Safeguards

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, is urging Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) member countries to enhance regional cooperation in order to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) frameworks, thereby safeguarding their financial systems.

“Your active participation and expertise are critical in shaping our region’s response to financial crimes. We do understand the gravamen of this awesome task, where the UN (United Nations) Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that annual money laundering volumes range from two per cent to five per cent of global GDP (gross domestic product) or about US$2.2 trillion to US$5.5 trillion,” Mrs. Williams outlined.

“This is a never-ending battle, and we must remain forever vigilant. I also cannot overemphasise the importance of the commitment to keep our systems robust and in line with international standards as the most assured way to stay off the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list and the European Union (EU) blacklist, which can be materially detrimental for our financial systems and, by extension, for our economies,” the Minister added.

She was addressing the 59th CFATF Plenary and Working Group Meetings opening ceremony at the Princess Grand Hotel in Hanover on Wednesday (December 4).

The plenary is being hosted by the Finance Ministry through the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).

CFATF is an organisation of 25 states of the Caribbean Basin, Central and South America, which have agreed to implement common countermeasures to address money laundering.

It was established following meetings convened in Aruba in May 1990 and Jamaica in November 1992.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list identifies countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT system.

Using a tailored action plan, countries on the grey list are assessed by and work with a group of experts to rectify gaps in their systems.

Jamaica was recently removed from the grey list, after being placed on it in 2020.

The EU blacklist, officially known as the EU List of Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions, comprise countries deemed uncooperative in terms of tax transparency, fair taxation, and anti-base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures.

Minister Williams highlighted that some 22 countries have been placed on the FATF’s grey list in recent months, with two being CFATF Member States.

“I highlight this statistic for us all to be fundamentally aware of the ongoing importance to keep our systems for identifying, mitigating and managing money laundering, terrorism financing and a proliferation of financing risks, up to date and relevant,” she said.

“I urge you to pay keen attention to this area, so as to remain relevant, competent authorities, staying abreast of and utilising technology in regulatory and supervisory environments,” Mrs. Williams underscored.

For her part, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, noted that in recent years, Jamaica has made significant strides by integrating advanced analytics and automation into its financial intelligence processes.

“The implementation of real-time monitoring systems within our financial institutions has greatly improved our ability to detect, disrupt and dismantle illicit operations. Moreover, we have strengthened the capacity of many of our key players in the fight against money laundering, such as our Financial Investigations Division and MOCA (Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency),” she said.

“Even the work that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is doing… they’re using a lot of technology embedded in their systems so that we can analyse [the] data and identify transactions and activities related to very complex criminal networks. The establishment of specialised task forces to address vulnerabilities identified during our mutual evaluation report was a cornerstone of our strategy,” the Minister added.

Senator Morris Dixon commended the Finance Ministry and BOJ for their part in ensuring Jamaica’s removal from the FATF grey list, adding that the island continues to enhance cross-border collaboration by strengthening partnerships with regional and international stakeholders to combat transnational crime.

“Jamaica knows what it felt like to be on the grey list and, more importantly, we know the work needed to be removed from the grey list and to also continue the work of securing our countries,” she pointed out.

“As we look to the future of our standards, Jamaica aspires for more. We aspire to continuously upgrade our technologies. We’re investing in emerging technologies to stay ahead of evolving criminal operations,” Senator Morris Dixon added.

During the plenary, being held from December 1 to 6, representatives of participating member countries will hold discussions on topics of common interest and address deficiencies in their mutual evaluation reports.