Financial Crime World

Saint Lucia Completes 2022 Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment

The Attorney General’s Chambers in Saint Lucia has announced the completion of the country’s 2022 Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment, a crucial step in its efforts to combat illicit activities. This assessment is part of Saint Lucia’s risk-based program aimed at identifying, assessing, and understanding its exposure to money laundering and terrorist financing.

A Critical Step Towards Re-Rating

According to Juliana Alfred, Permanent Secretary in the Attorney General’s Chambers and Chair of the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee (NAMLOC), the committee has been working diligently to ensure Saint Lucia’s readiness for re-rating. “We’ve had quite a bit of legislative amendments undertaken, we’ve had a lot of consultation with various stakeholders, and very importantly, we’ve undertaken a national risk assessment,” she said.

2022 Risk Assessment Results

The 2022 risk assessment revealed that Saint Lucia is at medium overall for money laundering and medium low for terrorist financing, representing a significant improvement from its 2019 assessment, which rated the island as medium high for money laundering and medium for terrorist financing. “It’s clear based on what we are seeing from the national risk assessment that the efforts the committee and Saint Lucia have placed in addressing the deficiencies are paying off,” Alfred noted.

Legislative Amendments

Attorney General Leslie Mondesir indicated that the government has passed a suite of legislative amendments, including:

  • Money Laundering Legislation
  • Anti-Terrorism Legislation
  • Proceeds of Crime Legislation
  • Virtual Assets Legislation
  • Mutual Legal Assistance Legislation

“Government is satisfied with the work of the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee,” he said.

Collaborative Effort

The completion of Saint Lucia’s risk assessment was a collaborative effort involving key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including:

  • Financial Intelligence Authority
  • Customs and Exercise
  • Royal Saint Lucia Police Force
  • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
  • Inland Revenue Department
  • Financial Services Regulatory Authority
  • Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Re-Rating Application

The country is now applying for a re-rating in November this year, with 22 recommendations that were partially compliant or non-compliant. Saint Lucia is confident that its efforts to address deficiencies will pay off and is working on augmenting resources, including:

  • Personnel
  • Technological tools
  • Training

to improve the regulatory and investigative capacities of competent authorities.