Haiti Falls Short on Money Laundering Detection, Says Financial Action Task Force

Latest Report Highlights Areas of Improvement Needed

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its latest report on Haiti’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. While the country made some progress in certain areas, it still lags behind in others.

Key Findings

• Haiti was found to be “largely compliant” with FATF recommendations in several key areas:
  • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1)
  • National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
  • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)
• However, Haiti was deemed “partially compliant” or “non-compliant” in many other areas:
  • Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
  • Terrorist financing offence (R.5)
  • Non-profit organisations (R.8)
  • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements (R.24 and R.25)

Areas for Improvement

• Haiti needs to improve in the following areas:
  • Customer due diligence (R.10)
  • Record keeping (R.11)
  • Politically exposed persons (R.12)
  • Correspondent banking (R.13)
  • Reporting of suspicious transactions (R.20)

FATF’s Urging

The Financial Action Task Force has urged Haiti to address these shortcomings in order to strengthen its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regime.

“We urge the government to implement the necessary reforms to strengthen its anti-money laundering framework,” says FATF. “Haiti must take further steps to ensure that its financial sector is not used for money laundering and terrorist financing.”

Conclusion

The report highlights the importance of Haiti taking concrete steps to improve its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regime. By addressing these shortcomings, Haiti can help prevent its financial sector from being exploited by criminals and terrorists.