Central Bank moves to make money laundering more difficult

THE Central Bank will introduce new measures and strengthen existing regulations to make it more difficult for money launderers and terrorism financiers from doing business in Trinidad and Tobago. Addressing an anti-money laundering/terrorist financing workshop hosted by the Association of TT Insurance Companies (ATTIC) at the Crowne Plaza, Central Bank senior examiner Adrian Saunders disclosed that the bank will soon conduct a comprehensive review of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing mechanisms used by all of the nation’s financial entities —including brokers.

He said while TT was not as advanced as other nations in tackling these issues, this country has done well to prevent money launderers and terrorist financiers from setting up shop here. The Central Bank official added that TT rated well in two evaluations conducted within recent years by the Caribbean Action Financial Task Force (CAFTF) and will be evaluated again by this group in April. Saunders explained there were 49 global guidelines used to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and are critical components to “the promotion of a strong and healthy financial sector.” He noted that any nation which fails to follow these guidelines, will be viewed as “risky to do business with” by the rest of the world.

The Central Bank official said the Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 is the principal piece of legislation which addresses money laundering and terrorist financing and its teeth will be sharpened by the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2004 and the 2004 Financial Obligations regulations. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, persons found guilty of money laundering on summary conviction are liable to a fine of $10,000 and ten years imprisonment. On conviction on indictment, persons face a fine of $25,000 and 15 years imprisonment. The Anti-Terrorism Bill 2004 is currently being debated in the House of Representatives.

Saunders said individual insurance companies and financial institutions in general, could play their part in safeguarding the financial sector from criminal contamination by obtaining a proper profile of all their clients. He said seemingly innocent things such as customer nationality, reluctance of customers to divulge certain information and whether a financial transaction originates from a nation with flawed financial supervisory mechanisms, could be used by companies to determine if their customers are the genuine article or  wolves in sheep’s clothing. Saunders also said while most financial entities use a $60,000 threshold for legal transactions, companies must be flexible when setting such limits. Inter-Insurance Fraud committee chairman Anthony Jones said there must be greater sharing of information between financial companies where questionable activities are concerned, and these should be reported to the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU.)