Caribbean Jurisdictions Brace For Canadian Banking Secrecy Changes

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

29 May 2003

A report in the Barbados Advocate on Tuesday revealed that Caribbean offshore jurisdictions are bracing for the introduction of new banking secrecy rules by the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).

The news service reported that as a coordinated part of the international anti-money laundering and terrorist financing campaign, Canadian banks will soon be required to know the end beneficiaries of an account, rather than just the name of the entity which is fronting the transaction.

OFSI spokeswoman, Margaret Pearcy confirmed this, explaining that:

'If an account is held by ABC Inc., we would expect the financial institution to establish who its principals are. If [the account holders] are other corporate entities, then those entities have to be analysed until the true owners are identified.'

The OFSI will unveil its new plans for Canadian banks at home and overseas following recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), according to the Barbados Advocate.

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