Here is the rewritten article in Markdown format:
Grenada Financial Investigation Procedures Under Scrutiny
The United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an advisory warning banks and financial institutions to exercise enhanced scrutiny on transactions involving Grenada, a Caribbean commonwealth nation.
Systemic Problems Create Opportunities for Money Laundering
According to the advisory, Grenada’s legal, supervisory, and regulatory systems suffer from significant systemic problems that create opportunities for money laundering and the evasion of effective investigation or punishment. The country was identified by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) in September 2001 as non- cooperative in the fight against money laundering.
Deficiencies in Grenada’s Anti-Money Laundering Regime
Grenada’s deficiencies include:
- Lack of court-ordered compulsion to produce customer account information
- Secrecy laws that prevent supervisors from disclosing such information to law enforcement authorities
- Limited ability to share information with foreign counterparts
- Failure to respond timely to U.S. law enforcement requests for information under the mutual legal assistance treaty
Despite Recent Efforts, Significant Opportunities Remain
Despite recent efforts by Grenada to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime, including issuing counter-money laundering regulations and publishing anti-money laundering guidelines, the country’s systems still create significant opportunities for criminals to launder and protect the proceeds of crime.
Enhanced Scrutiny Required
As a result, banks and financial institutions operating in the United States are advised to give enhanced scrutiny to all financial transactions originating in or routed to or through Grenada, or involving entities organized or domiciled, or persons maintaining accounts, in Grenada. Institutions subject to suspicious transaction reporting rules should carefully examine available facts relating to such transactions to determine if they require reporting.
No Curtailment of Legitimate Business
The Treasury Department emphasized that the issuance of this advisory does not mean that U.S. financial institutions should curtail legitimate business with Grenada. The department will also consider any report relating to a transaction described in the advisory as a report of a suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation, thereby providing a “safe harbor” from liability for reporting.
Technical Assistance Offered
United States officials are willing to provide technical assistance to Grenadan officials as they work to remedy the deficiencies in their counter-money laundering systems.