Antigua Leads Calls For WTO To Set Money Laundering Rules

by Amanda Banks, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

01 July 2004

A group of eight small offshore and onshore jurisdictions has called for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing initiatives to be established and implemented by the World Trade Organisation, of which they are members, rather than the Financial Action Task Force, of which they are not.

Led by Antigua and Barbuda, the group comprises Fiji, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Belize, the Maldives, and St Kitts and Nevis.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the WTO, John Ashe explained the reasoning behind the request:

"We face a double whammy - we don't participate in drafting the rules so our concerns are not taken on board, and to implement them is a costly exercise."

He went on to observe that:

"Once it can be shown that a regime is in place in a country, standards shouldn't be injurious to an economy."

However, FATF executive secretary, Patrick Moulette told the news service that: "There is no need to re-open the debate" as the standards are already global in scope.

"It's important to have a consistent response," he concluded.

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