Financial Crime World

Haiti Faces Pressure to Comply with CFT Regulatory Requirements

EU and FATF Raise Concerns over Haiti’s AML/CFT Regime

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Union (EU) have raised concerns over Haiti’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime, placing the country under increased scrutiny. As a result, Haiti has made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) to strengthen its AML/CFT regime.

Requirements for Compliance

To address these concerns, Haiti is expected to:

  • Complete its money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment process and disseminate the findings
  • Facilitate information sharing with relevant foreign counterparts
  • Address technical deficiencies in its legal and regulatory framework
  • Implement risk-based AML/CFT supervision for all financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) deemed to constitute a higher money laundering and terrorist financing risk

Additional Requirements

Haiti is also required to:

  • Maintain and make accessible basic and beneficial ownership information in a timely manner
  • Improve the use of financial intelligence and other relevant information by competent authorities for combating money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Address technical deficiencies in its money laundering offence and demonstrate authorities’ ability to identify, investigate, and prosecute such cases in a manner consistent with Haiti’s risk profile
  • Demonstrate an increase in the identification, tracing, and recovery of proceeds of crimes
  • Address technical deficiencies in its terrorist financing offence and targeted financial sanctions regime
  • Conduct appropriate risk-based monitoring of non-profit organizations (NPOs) vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse without disrupting or discouraging legitimate NPO activities

Technical Assistance Offered by the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT

The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT has initiated discussions with Haitian authorities to provide technical assistance on strategic approach and technical assistance coordination committee mentoring, as part of efforts to strengthen Haiti’s AML/CFT regime.