AG: Better performance expected

This country is set to do considerably better in the upcoming Mutual Evaluation Exercise to be conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), than it did when the last such exercise was done in 2016.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, said that in that peer review process Barbados “performed abysmally” in relation to the 40 standards set by the France-based FATF, and the country was put on enhanced surveillance to improve the rating in the future. He spoke to this yesterday morning as he led off the debate on the Companies (Amendment) Bill and the Charities (Amendment) Bill in the House of Assembly, both of which have to be changed to help the country be compliant with the FATF, and are aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

“We were rated non-compliant on about seven areas, we were rated low compliant on about eight others Sir, and we didn’t do well. And we have been given until June of this year to meet those minimum standards or else we would be put on a further level, though as you expect Sir, a level that is a little bit more intrusive than we are in now. What we are in now is an enhanced follow-up process, which means that the State has given its commitment to make the necessary changes to its law and to submit those changes that we have made to the regional body, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force,” he stated.

The Attorney General told the Chamber that on March 26, 2019 Barbados submitted a report, within time, to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and believes strongly that based on the progress made to date, that the country would be in a position to do much better in the June assessment. That, he said, is in spite of the legislation before the House for debate not being passed at that time.

“As long as we can get these pieces of legislation enacted by mid-May these would allow us to score even higher in that evaluation exercise,” he maintained.

His comments came as he said that it is imperative that Barbados comply with the FATF’s standards, as the country’s sustainability depends on it. Failure to meet the standards, he explained jeopardises the ability of Government and businesses operating here and individuals living here to do business in the international arena.

“We might not like it, we may say it offends our sovereignty, we may say Sir that big brother is out to get us, but that is the situation we live with,” he said.

AG Marshall added, “These may seem to be small steps, but there are steps that it was important for us to make in order to be able to satisfy our FATF requirements. There are steps that we are required to take, not just because there is some puppeteer pulling our strings, but because we have a lot at stake."

In that vein, he said the changes are also important in ensuring that Barbados meets the minimum standards to assist in the global fight against terrorism and money laundering. He contended that Barbados is not immune to these things, noting that there are Barbadians who have been charged with money laundering both here and abroad.

“…This is not some figment of our imagination, this is not the product of a hyperactive mind. There are Barbadians who are charged before our courts for money laundering as we speak Sir, and therefore these measures are important in assisting us to discharge our obligations as a well-regulated state and our obligations to the international polity of which we may be a small, but we consider ourselves to be an important member,” the AG stated.
(JRT)