Haiti Receives Mixed Assessment from FATF on Aml/Cft Regulations

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Haiti’s Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (Aml/Cft) regulations have received a mixed assessment from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While the country scored well in some areas, it was found to be lacking in others.

Compliant and Partly Compliant Areas

Haiti was deemed “Largely Compliant” for several requirements, including:

• Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach
• National cooperation and coordination
• Money laundering offense
• Confiscation and provisional measures
• Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing
• Regulation and supervision of financial institutions

However, Haiti received lower ratings in the following areas:

Areas for Improvement

Haiti was deemed “Partially Compliant” for several requirements, including:

• Laws on confiscation and provisional measures
• Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation
• Customer due diligence
• Record keeping
• Politically exposed persons
• Money or value transfer services
• Wire transfers
• Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries
• Reporting of suspicious transactions
• DNFBPs: Customer due diligence, transparency, and beneficial ownership of legal persons
• Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs

Additionally, Haiti was found to be “Non-Compliant” in regards to its laws on:

Recommendations for Improvement

The FATF report highlights several areas that Haiti needs to improve on, including:

• Strengthening its laws and regulations related to terrorist financing offense, non-profit organizations, and transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons
• Enhancing cooperation with other countries in the region
• Improving capacity for investigating and prosecuting Aml/Cft cases

Conclusion

While Haiti has made progress in implementing its Aml/Cft regulations, it still faces significant challenges in several areas. The country must take concrete steps to address these weaknesses and improve its overall compliance with international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Key Takeaways

• Haiti’s Aml/Cft regulations received a mixed assessment from the FATF
• Areas for improvement include laws on confiscation, targeted financial sanctions, customer due diligence, and transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons
• Recommendations for improvement include strengthening laws and regulations related to terrorist financing offense, non-profit organizations, and enhancing cooperation with other countries in the region