Financial Crime World

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Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Virgin Islands

Key Points

The following are key takeaways from the document outlining regulatory bodies and institutions responsible for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes in the Virgin Islands.

  • The importance of intelligence sharing, joint pursuit and apprehension of criminals, and disruption of criminal activity to prevent loopholes in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • Primary threats to the AML/CFT regime include:
    • Criminals’ ability to avoid extradition, retain proceeds of crime, launder money, finance terrorism, and exploit vulnerabilities in the Money Services Business (MSB) sector.
    • Law Enforcement Agencies’ (LEAs) failure to pursue migrant smugglers, human traffickers, money launderers, and other criminals; conduct timely ML investigations; pursue prosecution for ML offenses; confiscate assets; and detect security breaches.
    • Corruption within LEAs that could cause illegal activities to be overlooked or investigations to be frustrated or circumvented.
    • Inadequate and inappropriate supervisory and enforcement frameworks for Financial Institutions (FIs) and Designated Non-Financial Business and Professions (DNFBPs), leading to abuse of these systems by criminals.

Main Regulatory Bodies

The following regulatory bodies play a crucial role in promoting public awareness, fostering cooperation among key public bodies, and sharing information to combat money laundering and terrorist financing:

  • Joint Anti-Money Laundering Task Force (JALTFAC): Responsible for coordinating efforts to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • International Governance Committee (IGC): Oversees the implementation of AML/CFT regulations and ensures compliance with international standards.

Conclusion

The Virgin Islands’ regulatory bodies are working together to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Intelligence sharing, joint pursuit and apprehension of criminals, and disruption of criminal activity are essential in preventing loopholes in the fight against these crimes.