Financial Crime World

Haiti Struggles to Combat Terrorism Financing and Financial Crime: EU and FATF Urge Reforms

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and European Union have jointly flagged Haiti for its inadequate efforts to combat terrorism financing and financial crime. Despite making high-level political commitments, Haiti still lags behind in addressing its strategic deficiencies.

Strategic Deficiencies

  • Lack of a comprehensive risk assessment process
  • Inadequate information sharing with foreign counterparts
  • Insufficient supervision of financial institutions deemed to pose a higher risk of money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Requires significant improvement to prevent AML/CFT abuses

Challenges in Implementing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Measures

  • Struggled to maintain accurate records of beneficial ownership
  • Inadequate access to timely information
  • Financial intelligence not effectively used by authorities
  • ML cases rarely investigated and prosecuted consistently with Haiti’s risk profile

Targeted Financial Sanctions Regime

  • Needs improvement in monitoring non-profit organizations vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse without hindering their legitimate activities

International Community’s Response

EU Global Facility on AML/CFT

Technical Assistance

The EU Global Facility on AML/CFT has initiated discussions with Haitian authorities to provide technical assistance in strategic approach and coordination committee mentoring.

FATF Recommendations

  • Address technical deficiencies in ML and TF offences
  • Ensure the identification, tracing, and recovery of criminal proceeds

Urgent Call for Action

The international community is urging Haiti to take swift action to strengthen its AML/CFT regime and prevent the misuse of financial systems by terrorist organizations.