Caribbean Sharpens Response To Financial Crime

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

19 January 2011

In an effort to sharpen the regional response to transnational organized crime, the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) have signed an agreement, laying down a framework for combating financial crimes including money laundering.

In a joint communication on January 15, the agencies announced the signing of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting forth plans to cooperate on tackling financial crimes, including money laundering, and the proceeds of the narcotics and arms trades that can fund terrorism-related activity.

Welcoming the pact, Lynne Anne Williams, the Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS, said: “This MoU signifies a clear recognition by the Caribbean Community of the danger that unchecked financial crime poses to our economic and political systems...it is indeed, a concrete step towards the urgent implementation of measures which are critical not only to CARICOM states, but to those of the wider Caribbean region.”

The terms of the agreement were reached at the Tenth Meeting of the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement in June 2010.

AS a result of the MoU, IMPACS and CFATF will undertake a three-year programme to train investigators to tackle the prevalence of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This will mainly be achieved by the seizure of illegitimate funds.

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