Suriname Warned on Anti-Terrorism Financing Regulations: Caribbean Task Force Issues Statement

Strengthening Regional Efforts Against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has issued a statement expressing concerns over Suriname’s slow progress in addressing strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

Background

In February 2012, a high-level mission was conducted to assess Suriname’s AML/CFT compliance. However, since then, there has been limited progress in implementing necessary amendments. As a result, the CFATF brought the issue to the attention of its members in November 2014, highlighting significant strategic deficiencies in Suriname’s regime.

Action Plan and Progress

In an effort to expedite rectification of these deficiencies, the CFATF and Suriname developed an action plan with target dates for addressing identified gaps. While some improvements have been made, including:

• Enhanced criminalization of money laundering and terrorist financing
• Strengthened customer due diligence requirements

the CFATF has determined that Suriname has failed to make sufficient progress in addressing its significant strategic AML/CFT deficiencies.

Warning and Consequences

The statement warns that if Suriname does not take specific steps by May 2016, the CFATF will identify the country as not taking sufficient steps to address its AML/CFT deficiencies. This could lead to counter-measures being implemented by CFATF members to protect their financial systems from ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Suriname.

Recommendations

The statement can be downloaded from the CFATF website, and officials are urging member countries to consider the risks associated with each jurisdiction, as described in the report. It is essential for Suriname to take immediate action to address its AML/CFT deficiencies to avoid any adverse consequences.