Financial Crime World

Turks and Caicos Islands Makes Progress in Tackling Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Significant Improvement in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Measures

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has acknowledged the significant progress made by the Turks and Caicos Islands in strengthening its framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This improvement was recognized after a mutual evaluation report adopted by the CFATF in 2020, which assessed the effectiveness of the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures.

Progress Made in Addressing Technical Compliance Deficiencies

Following the adoption of the report, the Turks and Caicos Islands reported back on the progress it has made in addressing technical compliance deficiencies. As a result, the CFATF has re-rated the country on two key recommendations, moving from “partially compliant” to “largely compliant”. Specifically, the country has improved its rating on:

Key Recommendations

  • Recommendation 13: Correspondent Banking: The Turks and Caicos Islands has strengthened its framework for correspondent banking, which deals with the relationship between a bank and another bank in another country.
  • Recommendation 28: Regulation and Supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs): The country has improved its regulation and supervision of DNFBPs, which includes businesses and professions that are subject to AML/CFT regulations.

Improved Rating Reflects Commitment to Enhancing AML/CFT Framework

The CFATF report highlights that the Turks and Caicos Islands is now rated as “Compliant or Largely Compliant” with 37 out of the 40 FATF Recommendations. This significant improvement reflects the country’s commitment to enhancing its AML/CFT framework and meeting international standards.

Conclusion

The re-rating on these two recommendations is a testament to the Turks and Caicos Islands’ efforts in strengthening its AML/CFT measures, which will undoubtedly contribute to the country’s financial stability and integrity.