Continued FATF Scrutiny Likely, Warns Ingraham
Speaking during last week's Parliamentary debate on the extension of the Know
Your Customer (KYC) deadline to December 2003 in the Bahamas, former Prime Minister,
Hubert Ingraham warned that despite being in compliance with the FATF's anti-
money laundering recommendations, the jurisdiction is likely to face continued
scrutiny from the multilateral organisation. Recommending that the current government 'move with caution with respect to
the introduction of new financial services products, keep a watchful eye on
evolving concerns internationally about insurance generally and seek to put
us in a position to comply with evolving rules,' Mr Ingraham cautioned that
two issues remain unresolved which could lead the Financial Action Task Force
to remain watchful. According to the former PM, Criteria 5 and 14 of the 40 recommendations (which,
incidentally remain unresolved in the majority of FATF member nations), dealing
with the requirement for intermediaries such as lawyers and accountants to divulge
the names of the beneficial owners of funds held on account, and to engage in
ongoing anti-money laundering training have not yet been fully addressed. Although he explained that these were not matters which concerned the FATF
when it initially blacklisted the Bahamas in 2000: 'these issues are still matters
of concern with which the Bahamas will sooner or later come to terms.' .
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE: TAX-NEWS.COM has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright TAX-NEWS.COM 1999 to 2007. Contact us for further information.