Financial Crime World

Consequences of Financial Crime in Netherlands Antilles: Need for Greater Action

The Netherlands Antilles is facing a growing threat from financial crime, with measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing showing positive results but still lacking in certain areas.

Main Money Laundering Risks in the Netherlands Antilles

  • The country’s main money laundering risks are related to fraud and drug-related offences, which account for 90% of all Dutch proceeds of crime.
  • These crimes pose a significant threat to the financial stability and security of the Netherlands Antilles.

Outstanding Technical Deficiencies

  • The regulation of virtual asset service providers remains under-regulated in the country, creating an area that needs to be addressed.
  • This lack of regulation can lead to increased risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Importance of Domestic Inter-Agency Coordination and Public-Private Partnerships

  • Strong cooperation between the financial intelligence unit (FIU-NL) and law enforcement agencies is crucial for effective anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing efforts.
  • However, there is a need to improve risk-based supervision, including addressing unlicensed activity and ensuring proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for non-compliance with preventive measures.

Successes in Pursuing Confiscation of Criminal Assets

  • The Netherlands Antilles has been successful in pursuing confiscation of criminal assets as a strategic priority.
  • This effort has helped to disrupt the flow of illicit funds and reduce the proceeds of crime.

Challenges that Remain

  • There is still room for improvement in areas such as reporting and supervision of targeted financial sanctions for terrorist financing or proliferation financing.
  • The country also needs to focus more on preventing the abuse of non-profit organizations for terrorist financing purposes.

In conclusion, while the Netherlands Antilles has made progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, there are still significant challenges that need to be addressed to prevent these crimes from continuing to threaten the financial stability and security of the country.