Saint Kitts and Nevis Tightens Anti-Money Laundering Regulations

Strengthening Financial Stability and Combating Illicit Activities

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued new prudential standards to regulate anti-money laundering (AML) practices in licensed financial institutions in Saint Kitts and Nevis. These guidelines are designed to provide essential tools for financial institutions to develop effective programs to combat money laundering.

ECCB’s Guidance Notes

The ECCB’s guidance notes, released in 1995, promote the implementation of robust AML policies, procedures, and controls. These measures include:

• Essential Measures: Adequate customer identification, transaction verification, record retention, suspicious activity reporting, employee recruitment and training, and audit reviews.
• Complementary Legislation: The ECCB’s standards are designed to complement more comprehensive legislation and guidelines passed by member territories in the region.

Precedence of Territorial Regulations

In cases where individual territory regulations or laws differ from the ECCB’s standards, the former will take precedence. This ensures that financial institutions operating in Saint Kitts and Nevis adhere to the highest standards of AML compliance.

Issued Regulations

To date, the following regulations have been issued to regulate AML practices in Saint Kitts and Nevis:

• Capital Adequacy and Capital Ratios Regulations
• Abandoned Properties Regulations
• Banking Disclosures in Statement of Accounts Regulations

Objectives of the Regulations

These regulations aim to ensure that financial institutions operating in Saint Kitts and Nevis maintain high standards of AML compliance, thereby protecting the integrity of the country’s financial system and preventing illegal activities.