Combating Financing of Terrorism Guidelines in Haiti: Country’s Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Face Scrutiny

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recently released its latest assessment on Haiti’s efforts to combat financing of terrorism, revealing both significant progress and ongoing challenges.

Technical Compliance Rating

According to the FATF’s technical compliance rating, Haiti is rated PC - partially compliant with global standards for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). This indicates that while Haiti has implemented some necessary measures, there are still gaps in its system that need to be addressed.

Effectiveness Rating

In terms of effectiveness, Haiti was given a rating of SE - substantial level of effectiveness. The FATF assessment found that Haiti’s AML/CFT system is largely effective in achieving its objectives, with several immediate outcomes being achieved, including:

• Identifying and disrupting terrorist financing activities
• Investigating and prosecuting money laundering cases

Areas for Improvement

However, the report also identified several areas where Haiti needs to improve, including:

• Robust customer due diligence measures: Haiti’s financial institutions need to implement more effective measures to verify the identity of their customers.
• Effective system of reporting suspicious transactions: Haiti’s system for reporting suspicious transactions is not yet fully functional.

Recommendations

The FATF has recommended that Haiti take several steps to address these weaknesses, including:

• Strengthening its financial intelligence unit: Haiti needs to improve its ability to collect and analyze financial data.
• Improving cooperation with international partners: Haiti must enhance its cooperation with other countries and organizations to prevent the financing of terrorism.

International Recognition

Despite these challenges, Haiti’s efforts to combat financing of terrorism have been recognized by the international community. The country has made significant progress in recent years in implementing its AML/CFT framework and continues to work towards full compliance with global standards.

Ministry Statement

In a statement, Haiti’s Ministry of Finance and Economy welcomed the FATF’s assessment and committed to continuing its efforts to combat financing of terrorism. “We are proud of the progress we have made so far, but we also recognize that there is still much work to be done,” said the ministry. “We will continue to work closely with our international partners to strengthen our AML/CFT system and prevent the financing of terrorism.”