Discover the latest News from FATF – the Financial Crime Watchdog
The ‘Grey List’ and the ‘Black List’, created by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), categorise countries based on their perceived risks and compliance with international standards in countering financial crimes.
The FATF is an independent intergovernmental organization run by the OECD with over 40 member countries. There are a number of FATF regional bodies (FSRB) including the Caribbean FATF which are associate members. FATF was established to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes globally. The Grey List, officially known as “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring,” consists of countries with strategic deficiencies in their frameworks to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. These countries are urged to take corrective measures. Discover the latest developments from Jurisdictions in the Caribbean and Central America.
The Latest Development for the Region:
Cayman Islands: Jurisdiction No Longer Subject to Increased Monitoring
FATF has removed the Cayman Islands from its list of countries subject to increased monitoring for anti-money laundering purposes ‘Grey List’. The FATF process recognises that the Cayman Islands has the highest levels of technical compliance with global anti-money laundering standards and ensures that those standards are being applied effectively.
Panama: Jurisdiction No Longer Subject to Increased Monitoring
FATF welcomes Panama’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime. Panama strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime to meet the commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in June 2019.
Barbados: Jurisdiction Under Increased Monitoring
At its October 2023 Plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that Barbados has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment to verify that the implementation of the AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future.
Barbados has made the following key reforms, including: (1) conducting risk-based supervision of financial institutions and applying sanctions as appropriate, (2) ensuring that accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information is available on a timely basis, (3) improving and enhancing the use of financial intelligence, and (4) pursuing repatriation and sharing of confiscated assets with other countries.
Haiti: Jurisdiction Under Increased Monitoring
Since June 2021, when Haiti made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and CFATF to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime, Haiti has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime, including by facilitating information sharing with relevant foreign counterparts and addressing technical deficiencies in its ML offence, TF offence, and AML/CFT preventive measures. The FATF recognises the political commitment expressed at a high level and the efforts demonstrated by Haiti to advance its commitments in the midst of the challenging social, economic and security situation within the country. The FATF notes Haiti’s continued progress across its action plan, however all deadlines have now expired and work remains. The FATF encourages Haiti to continue to implement its action plan to address the above-mentioned strategic deficiencies.
Jamaica: Jurisdiction Under Increased Monitoring
FATF again expresses concern that Jamaica failed to complete its action plan, which fully expired in January 2022. The FATF strongly urges Jamaica to swiftly demonstrate significant progress in completing its action plan by February 2024 or the FATF will consider next steps, which could include calling on its members and urging all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence to business relations and transactions with Jamaica.
Caribbean and Central American Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring ‘Grey List’ – FATF.
(Source FATF – released 27 October 2023)
UN adopts plans for historic tax reform
Countries at the UN have adopted by a landslide majority today a resolution to begin the process of establishing a framework convention on tax and completely change how global tax rules are decided. The framework convention can eventually move decision-making on global tax rules from the OECD – a small club of rich countries where this has sat for over 60 years – to the UN.
The result of today’s UN vote has for decades been considered impossible to achieve. The last attempt to bring decision-making on tax rules to the UN was in the 1970’s. The failure of the attempt dissuaded any similar attempts for nearly 50 years.
The unamended resolution was supported by an even bigger margin. Nearly two-thirds (125) of countries at the UN voted in favour of the reforms. 48 countries voted against the resolution and 9 abstained.
The adoption of the resolution is being widely celebrated by government officials, economists and civil society organisations around the world.
Source: Nov 22 2023 (Tax Justice Network)