FATF and EU Delist Bahamas from AML Blacklist

Richard Marley
January 14, 2022
2 minutes read
1605

European Union has finally removed Bahamas from its AML blacklist, right after FATF has delisted the country from the grey list.

The European Union implemented a new regulation on 7 January to amend the EU AML blacklist, including removing the Bahamas, just a few days after it was delisted from the FATF’s (Financial Action Task Force) grey list as it has some shortcoming in its anti-money laundering defense framework.

The Office of the Attorney General said in a statement that “the FATF congratulated The Bahamas for the ‘significant progress’ it has made in improving its AML/CFT/CFP regime”.

The Bahamas has been delisted from the EU anti-money laundering (AML) blacklist, Attorney General Ryan Pinder announced today.

— Nassau Guardian (@GuardianNassau) January 12, 2022

“The Bahamas has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT system and addressed related technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in its action plan and remedy the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF in October 2018. The Bahamas is therefore no longer subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process. The Bahamas will continue to work with CFATF to improve further its AML/CFT regime.” FATF added.

On 11 January OAG (Office of the Attorney-General), while providing additional details on EU delisting the country from AML blacklist said: “This favorable outcome of the many months of engagement is a welcomed one and comes almost 12 months after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) delisted The Bahamas on the 18th of December 2020 from its List of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring (FATF’s Grey List). The Bahamas will continue to work with European Union and all international partners as we seek to maintain our AML/CFT/CFP regime on par with international agreed measures which safeguard the global financial system.”

Financial watchdog also acknowledged and paid thanks to collaborate teams including National Identified Risk Framework Coordinator, Dr. Cassandra Nottage, the member of International Legal Cooperation and Compliance Units of the OAG and DG FISMA team, for this desired conclusion to the EU AML Review Process.

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IMF Urges Central Bank of Seychelles to Upgrade Transparency and AML Controls
The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) has been advised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have transparent practices and AML controls.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged CBS, the Central Bank of Seychelles, to incorporate refined practices in different accountability and governance areas. These include confidentiality, supervisory & confidentiality policies along with internal AML/CFT protocols.

According to the statement by IMF, CBS is giving information regarding legal structure, mandate, and a few key elements related to anti-corruption arrangements, risk and human resource management, and accountability on its website.

The review of IMF stated, “To better support the public’s perception of the CBS as a well-governed institution, it should consider highlighting these aspects in its annual report, and/or provide additional information on its website, particularly on human capital management, anti-corruption policies and decision-making arrangements.”

As per IMF’s review, CBS needs to work on several elements, including information’s accessibility to its internal governance arrangements. It could be done by maintaining the Annual Report’s respective sections and website. Moreover, it must overhaul the proceedings by publishing its Code of Conduct and Ethics.

“The legal mechanism for confidentiality issues has been established, but the dissemination and disclosure of the confidentiality framework could be enhanced. The CBS discloses basic information on its AML/CFT supervisory powers and policies, as well as on its related internal control framework, but disclosures on the processes and outcomes of its AML/CFT external policies and internal controls are limited,” said CBS Transparency Code Review of IMF.

IMF review said that the ensurance of transparency practices with new functions and powers by CBS would be effective for its own benefit. The practices adopted by CBS must comply with the powers acquired by the coming legislative act.

IMF’s CBS Transparency Code Review said, “In the last few years, the CBS’s regulatory powers have been substantially expanded with the adoption of AML/CFT Act and Financial Consumer Protection Act. Moreover, the forthcoming Financial Stability Act is expected to provide a transparent legal basis for the CBS’s (and other financial sector regulators) actions on financial stability. These legislative acts will require an expansion of the CBS’s transparency practices so that the related CBS activities continue to be appropriately disclosed to stakeholders.”

The review aims to identify the strength and improvement areas of CBS by allowing it to evaluate its transparency practices. The review presents the map of CBS’s transparency choices in comparison to several practices in three different categories (core, comprehensive, and expanded).

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FATF and EU Delist Bahamas from AML Blacklist

An Overview of Perpetual KYC

The Need for Perpetual KYC in Banking Sector

Recent Crime Cases in the Banking Industry

Criminal Gang in US Charged with Bank Fraud and Money Laundering

Two Former Employees of Major Bank Charged with Loan Fraud

Global Regulatory Authorities Monitoring the Banking Sector

US

UK

Securing Banking Organizations Through Perpetual KYC

What Shufti Pro Offers?

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