Financial Crime World

Dominican Republic Takes Steps to Enhance Regulatory Framework Against Financial Crimes

The Dominican Republic has made significant progress in implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, a set of international standards aimed at preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the country’s mutual evaluation report released in 2018, the Dominican Republic has achieved compliance or largely complied with most of the FATF Recommendations.

Key Areas of Progress

The report highlights several areas where the Dominican Republic has demonstrated significant improvement:

  • Risk Assessment: The country has established a risk-based approach to combating financial crimes, which involves identifying and mitigating potential risks in the financial sector.
  • Customer Due Diligence: Financial institutions are now required to conduct thorough customer due diligence, including verifying the identity of customers and monitoring their transactions for suspicious activity.
  • Transparency and Beneficial Ownership: The Dominican Republic has implemented measures to increase transparency in business ownership and beneficial ownership, making it more difficult for individuals to hide behind complex corporate structures.

Challenges Remain

While the Dominican Republic has made significant progress, there are still areas where improvements are needed:

  • Supervision and Enforcement: The country’s supervisory bodies need to strengthen their monitoring and enforcement capabilities to ensure that financial institutions comply with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.
  • International Cooperation: The Dominican Republic should continue to enhance its international cooperation, including mutual legal assistance and extradition agreements, to combat transnational financial crimes.

Conclusion

The Dominican Republic’s efforts to strengthen its regulatory framework against financial crimes are a positive step towards reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. While challenges remain, the country is on the right track in implementing the FATF Recommendations and enhancing international cooperation.