BVI to undergo Money Laundering Assessment

The British Virgin Islands has this week from November 17th to the 21st undergone its Second Round Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. (CFATF)

Given that money laundering is a borderless crime, the BVI has, along with other Caribbean Nations, recognised that it can only be combatted through regional and international efforts and initiatives.

With this in mind, the BVI was instrumental in founding the regional arm of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). As a result, the BVI is mandated to effectively implement international benchmarks prescribed by these organisations.

The CFATF is an organization comprised of thirty (30) Caribbean jurisdictions which agreed inter-alia to implement common Legal, Financial and Law Enforcement counter measures to address the multi-faceted problem of financial crime.

Pivotal to the work of the CFATF, is the monitoring mechanism of its Mutual Evaluation Programme through which members are monitored vis a vis the effective implementation of:

1. The 19 CFATF (Revised) Recommendations
2. The 40 FATF (Revised) Recommendations
3. The 8 FATF Special Recommendations
4. The 25 NCCT Criteria

This process involves the submission of each member to an assessment of its legal, financial and law enforcement initiatives based on relevant recommendations which are integral to the fight against money laundering and financial crime.

The Mutual Evaluation Programme is a crucial aspect of the work of the CFATF as it is one of the mechanisms by which the Secretariat ensures that each Member state fulfils the obligations undertaken. Through this monitoring mechanism the wider membership is kept informed as to what is happening on the ground in each Member Country that has signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

The BVI in 1998 underwent its first round of Mutual Evaluation by the CFATF, the focus of which was the enactment of the requisite legislative provisions.

This Second Round of Evaluation, however, goes beyond the existence of the legal and administrative provisions and focuses on the method and effectiveness of their implementation. Since the 1998, the Government has worked assiduously to implement the majority of the recommendations made by the examiners. Additionally, the Government has responded to the call of the global community to implement anti terrorist financing measures which did not form part of the basis for the last Evaluation.

Towards this end, the Attorney General's Chambers (as Prime Contact for the CFATF) will coordinate the Evaluation Visit.

The mutual evaluation process normally entails a mission to each of the Member Countries by a team of experts, one each in the field of Law, Finance and Law Enforcement and led by the Executive Director of the CFATF Secretariat.

The Evaluation Team will Comprise of the following:

1. The Executive Director, CFATF
2. Legal Examiner, CFATF Legal Adviser
3. Financial Examiner, Belize
4. Law Enforcement Examiner, St. Kitts

Both the private and public sectors are required to be assessed. This will take the form of interviews on an individual and industry basis (for e.g. individual bankers and the Bankers' Association).

The objective of the assessment is to give due recognition where the standard benchmarks are met but with a view to securing improvements where necessary, identify weaknesses which have been detected and make recommendations where they are found to exist.

The assessment will focus on how the BVI has implemented its legal and administrative initiatives. For the BVI, this Mutual Evaluation examination presents a valuable opportunity for an objective assessment by a team of experts of the anti money laundering framework as it exists at the time of the visit.