In March of this year, the Virgin Islands underwent a mutual evaluation assessment by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the regional body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to measure the Virgin Islands’ compliance with the FATF’s recommendations and the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing framework.
Minister for Financial Services, Labour and Trade Honourable Lorna Smith said, “Although I was not in office during the assessment period, as the Minister of Financial Services, Labour and Trade, I bear the responsibility of ensuring our financial services industry's regulation aligns with global standards and that it recognises its obligations in this critical area.”
In line with those responsibilities, Minister Smith recently attended the CFATF plenary held in Aruba, where the draft mutual evaluation report was tabled.
Honourable Smith stated, “A government presence at such international forums is vital. It underscores a country’s commitment at the highest level to ensure that standards are met and that the FATF recommendations are adhered to. It also clearly demonstrates our readiness to address any identified issues with the necessary resources promptly and effectively. All those I met reinforced that political leadership in these matters is highly regarded.”
During her time in Aruba Honourable Smith met the CFATF Executive Director Ms. Dawne Spicer and Honourable Samuel Bulgin K.C., J.P., the outgoing CFATF Chair of the Plenary, and Attorney General of the Cayman Islands, as well as other key figures.
The draft mutual evaluation report remains confidential while it undergoes the usual CFATF/FATF quality and control checks. However, publication is anticipated in January 2024.
The Virgin Islands delegation included the Attorney General Honourable Dawn Smith, and comprised key personnel from the Attorney General’s Chambers and other relevant authorities including the BVI Financial Services Commission, the Financial Investigation Agency, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, and the Director of Public Prosecution.
In partnership with all its competent authorities and industry stakeholders, the Government of the Virgin Islands is committed to addressing any recommendations identified in the final report and ensuring the availability of necessary resources for this purpose.
The FATF establishes international standards towards combatting money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Virgin Islands is a founding member of the CFATF and the Government remains steadfast towards upholding international best practice standards on money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.