Bahamas Small Businesses Must Comply with New AML Guidelines

The Central Bank of The Bahamas has issued new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) guidelines for supervised financial institutions, effective August 29th, 2018. These guidelines incorporate both mandatory minimum requirements of the AML/CFT laws in The Bahamas and industry best practices, making them enforceable by virtue of regulation 8 of the Financial Intelligence (Transactions Reporting) Regulations 2001.

Compliance Requirements

All small businesses that fall under the supervision of the Central Bank are required to use these guidelines to develop responsible procedures tailored to their specific business operations. These procedures must be designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions under applicable legislation.

Objectives of the New Guidelines

The new guidelines aim to ensure that financial institutions maintain high standards for AML/CFT compliance, thereby protecting the integrity of the financial system. Small businesses are advised to contact the Bank Supervision Department for any questions or queries they may have regarding the implementation of these guidelines.

Accessing the AML/CFT Guidelines 2018

A downloadable version of the AML/CFT Guidelines 2018 is available on the Central Bank’s website.