Financial Crime World

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Money Laundering in Trinidad and Tobago: Understanding the Risks

Trinidad and Tobago, a small island nation in the Caribbean, has been evaluated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

FATF Evaluation

In 2016, the FATF conducted a mutual evaluation of Trinidad and Tobago’s implementation of 40 recommendations aimed at preventing the misuse of financial systems. These recommendations cover various aspects, including:

  • Assessing risk
  • National cooperation
  • Money laundering offenses
  • Confiscation
  • Terrorist financing offenses
  • Targeted sanctions
  • And more

Partial Compliance

According to the FATF report, Trinidad and Tobago was found to be partially compliant with most of these recommendations. While the country has made efforts to implement anti-money laundering measures, there are still areas where improvement is needed.

Areas for Improvement

One area of concern is the lack of effective national cooperation and coordination between financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders. The report also highlighted the need for:

  • Improved customer due diligence
  • Record-keeping
  • Internal controls in financial institutions

Trinidad and Tobago was also found to be partially compliant with regards to:

  • Terrorist financing offenses
  • Targeted sanctions related to terrorism and proliferation
  • International cooperation

Recommendations

The FATF report recommended that Trinidad and Tobago take steps to address these shortcomings, including:

  • Strengthening its national cooperation and coordination mechanisms
  • Improving customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements
  • Enhancing its supervision of financial institutions

Conclusion

Overall, while Trinidad and Tobago has made progress in implementing anti-money laundering measures, there is still work to be done to ensure that the country’s financial system is fully protected from money laundering and terrorist financing risks.