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Turks and Caicos Islands Takes Significant Steps in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has commended the Turks and Caicos Islands for its progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework, following a recent mutual evaluation.

Progress Made in Strengthening AML/CFT Framework

According to the CFATF report, the Turks and Caicos Islands have made significant strides in addressing technical compliance deficiencies identified in the mutual evaluation. As a result, the country has been re-rated on 14 of the 40 FATF Recommendations, with some ratings improving from “partially compliant” to “largely compliant”.

Key Recommendations with Upgraded Ratings

The CFATF has upgraded the Turks and Caicos Islands’ rating on key recommendations related to:

• Non-profit organizations (Recommendation 8): Recognizing the importance of monitoring and regulating non-profit organizations to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Customer due diligence (Recommendation 10): Strengthening customer identification, verification, and record-keeping requirements to prevent suspicious transactions.
• Money Value Transfer Services (Recommendation 14): Improving regulation and oversight of money value transfer services to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Wire Transfers (Recommendation 16): Enhancing controls on wire transfers to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
• New Technologies (Recommendation 15): Implementing effective measures to combat the misuse of new technologies for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Recommendations with Maintained Ratings

The CFATF has maintained the “largely compliant” rating for:

• National co-operation and co-ordination (Recommendation 2): Demonstrating a strong commitment to national cooperation and coordination in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Internal Controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries (Recommendation 18): Ensuring effective internal controls and oversight of financial institutions’ international activities.

Conclusion

The Turks and Caicos Islands’ efforts demonstrate a significant step forward in enhancing financial inclusion and reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in the region. The CFATF report highlights the country’s progress in addressing technical compliance deficiencies and implementing new measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.