Financial Crime World

Effectiveness of St. Kitts and Nevis in Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Overview

St. Kitts and Nevis has made efforts to establish a technical framework for investigating money laundering (ML) and conducting prosecutions, but concerns remain regarding the effectiveness of its measures to prevent and combat ML and terrorist financing (TF).

Technical Framework

  • Well-established technical framework: The country has a well-established technical framework for investigating ML and conducting prosecutions.
  • Trained investigators: Investigators at the WCCU are well trained and experienced.

Investigations and Sources of Financial Intelligence

  • Main source of financial intelligence: Case disclosures (CDs) disseminated by the FIU to the WCCU are the main source of financial intelligence leading to ML and TF investigations.
  • Threshold for parallel investigation: Cases above a threshold of XCD 20,000 (USD 7,361) would include a parallel investigation for ML.

Statistics

  • Number of ML investigations: The number of ML investigations as reported by the WCCU are six (6) each for 2019 and 2020 and two (2) for the first three (3) months of 2021.
  • Low level of aggressive investigation: There is a low level of ML investigations, and ML is not being aggressively investigated by the WCCU.

Prosecutions and Convictions

  • Prosecutions before the court: At the time of the onsite visit, there were eight (8) prosecutions before the court for self-laundering ML.
  • No ML convictions: No ML convictions in St. Kitts and Nevis during the review period.

Asset Recovery and Confiscation Proceedings

  • Limited experience in asset recovery: St. Kitts and Nevis has limited experience in asset recovery with foreign counterparts, either for proceeds of foreign predicates located in the jurisdiction or proceeds from domestic predicates laundered outside St. Kitts and Nevis.
  • National policy objective for confiscation: The country did not have a national policy objective for the confiscation of criminal proceeds until March 2021.