CARIBBEAN FINANCIAL ACTON TASK FORCE
XLIV PLENARY NOVEMBER 2016
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

This week, the Turks and Caicos Islands hosts for the first time, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) XLIV Plenary and Working Groups Meetings at the Tropicana on Providenciales from 7-10thNovember 2016.

By way of background, the Turks and Caicos Islands was unanimously elected as Deputy Chair of the CFATF, the premier Anti-money laundering and combating terrorism financing regional compliance body, at its XLII Plenary in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on 24th November 2015. Hon. Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles holds that position as Attorney General and Prime Contact of the Turks and Caicos Islands. 

That election leads to the Turks and Caicos Islands becoming the Chair of the CFATF during this week's Plenary hosted by the Turks and Caicos Islands on Providenciales. The current chair of the CFATF is Trinidad and Tobago and that position is held by Trinidad and Tobago's Attorney General Hon. Faris Al Rawi. 

The CFATF is an FATF-style inter-governmental regional body for the Caribbean which plays a critical role in promoting compliance through monitoring and evaluating member states in an effort to achieve compliance with the FATF Recommendations. The FATF is the premier global inter-governmental organization that sets the standards for preventing money laundering, combatting terrorist financing and the financing of weapons proliferation (AML/CFT). Globally 180 jurisdictions have joined the FATF and FATF-style bodies. 

Compliance with the FATF internationally endorse standards protect the integrity of the global financial system by increasing the transparency of the financial system (making it easier to detect criminal activity) and give countries the capacity to successfully take action against money launderers and terrorist financiers. 

The benefits of compliance with the FATF standards include - 

1) securing a more transparent and stable financial system that is more attractive to foreign investors

2) ensuring that financial institutions are not vulnerable to infiltration or abuse by organized crime groups

3) building the capacity to fight terrorism and trace terrorist money

4) meeting binding international obligations and avoid the risk of sanctions or other actions by the international community

5) avoiding becoming a haven for criminals

The CFATF comprises 26 countries from South and Central America and the Caribbean, with a total population of approximately 80 million persons. These countries include Jamaica, the Bahamas, Venezuela, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Belize and the Cayman Islands. 

The Turks and Caicos Islands was last evaluated by the CFATF in 2008 and will be assessed again under the new FATF standards as to the effective implementation of the AML/CFT public sector and private sector systems in the first half of 2017. Work has begun on the completion of a National Risk Assessment within the Turks and Caicos Islands with public and private sector participation.

This week's meetings will primarily deal with the recent evaluation of Jamaica. About 175 delegates from regional governments and public bodies charged with monitoring compliance with AML/CFT matters have travelled to Providenciales to attend the Plenary and related meetings and events hosted by the Attorney General's Chambers partnering with the Ministry of Finance, the Customs department, the Ministry of Tourism, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Financial Intelligence Agency, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Industry Association, the Bar Council and the British Caribbean Bank.

The Plenary and meetings are held in closed sessions and are only open to registered delegates, however, there will be an Opening Ceremony open to invited guests and the media scheduled for 9am - 9:45am on Wednesday November 9, 2016 at the Tropicana, the Bight, Providenciales.

Braithwaite Knowles said "It is an honour to accept the Chairmanship of the CFATF on behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This demonstrates the commitment and capacity of the Turks and Caicos Islands to transparency in our financial systems and to playing a key leadership role in regional efforts to achieve compliance with these important standards."

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Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE, yesterday, November 24, 2015, became deputy chair of the regional compliance body, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) at its XLII Plenary in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi of Trinidad and Tobago assumed the Chairmanship of the organisation at the meeting and expressed his eagerness to collaborate with Braithwaite Knowles on the leadership of the organisation. At the Opening Ceremony Braithwaite Knowles said “The Turks and Caicos Islands considers it an honour and privilege to be of service to the CFATF for the very first time in this capacity. On behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands and our people, I wish to thank you for the strong vote of confidence in the value of our ability to make a meaningful contribution towards achieving our shared objectives”.

Braithwaite Knowles was unanimously elected at a meeting of the CFATF Ministerial Council in Miami in May 2015 and will take over the reins of leadership as Chairman in November 2016.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President, Je Yoon Shin, attended the opening ceremony and brought remarks on behalf of the Paris based parent organization and urged members of the CFATF to look closely at the recent and ongoing work of that body and noted his “esteem for the CFATF” and its effective work. Some 167 delegates representing the CFATF's 27 member states are attending the conference and have been engaged in private sessions since Sunday, November 22.

The CFATF is the regional offshoot of the FATF, the premier inter-governmental organization that sets the standards for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The CFATF plays a critical role in promoting regional compliance with the FATF Recommendations on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism.

The CFATF comprises 27 countries from South and Central America and the Caribbean, with a total population of approximately 80 million persons. These countries include Jamaica, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Belize and the Cayman Islands. CFATF is responsible for monitoring and evaluating member states in an effort to achieve compliance. TCI would be expected to host the Plenary in November 2016.

Meetings around the Plenary include a meeting of FIUs, Working Groups and other CFATF Committees dealing with governance issues such as budget planning and human resources. Angela Brooks, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions is co-chair of the CFATF’s Human Resources Committee. Insp. Dwayne Baker is co-chair of the CFATF’s Forum for Heads of FIU (Working group on Risks, Trends and Methods).

Accompanying Braithwaite Knowles at the CFATF plenary are Khalila Astwood from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Henry Saunders from the Exchange of Information Unit, Dwayne Baker from the Financial Intelligence Agency and Kenisha Bacchus and Paul Coleman from the Financial Services Commission.

The effectiveness of the legislative and regulatory infrastructure of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ financial services sector will be evaluated by the CFATF in the second quarter of 2017. Braithwaite Knowles said “Work is underway on a National Risk Assessment which requires both public and private sector participation. This is the context in which the Turks and Caicos Islands has assumed the Deputy Chair and in the following year, the Chair of the CFATF. The success of these initiatives will require the participation of both public and private sector stakeholders, as clearly effective implementation of AML/CFT requirements is central to much of the work undertaken by all of the stakeholders in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”