Movement of money among non-financial business persons in focus
ONE OF THE issues that continue to engage the attention of Barbados’ Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), of the Anti-money Laundering Authority, is how to tie down the movement of money between designated non-financial business persons.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said some of these “business persons” include attorneys-at-law and real estate agents, in addition to similar category of persons.
Persons through whom pass large sums of money but who are not in the normal realm of things, persons who deal with financial issues as a matter of course. When I checked before our last evaluation, we had still not been able to wrestle that issue to the ground and to tie that issue off in terms of designated non-financial business persons,” he said.
Stuart said because the island’s banking system has been alert to money laundering possibilities, banks have tightened its rules and regulations, paying close attention to monitoring deposits and withdrawals.
Sometimes your own money that you have in the commercial bank, you try to withdraw it and you have to answer more questions than you should have to answer about your own money.
“But because we have to be sensitive to these issues, and because money laundering is a serious problem not only across the western world, but across the world in general, this institutional tightening has had to take place,” he said.
On that note, the Prime Minister praised the Financial Intelligence Unit for the work it has been doing. He said though not effectively resourced, the Unit has performed commendably well.
Stuart was speaking on a Resolution to have the House of Assembly to approve the sum of two hundred and fifty-three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven dollars and forty- three cents, for sums owed in respect of Barbados’ National Risk Assessment.
He said whenever there are upcoming evaluations, work intensifies as deadlines have to be met, and therefore the Unit’s operating expenses increases. He alluded to the fact that the money is needed to cover the cost of consultancy services, the payment of outstanding arrears for a World Bank software programme, and the renewal of a software subscription.
“As a result of the robust efforts of the staff of the FIU, and as a result of the consultancy services provided, and also as a result of the software secured, we were able to plough our way through our Risk Assessment [carried out in Guyana last year].
“. . . There were a number of areas that we have to continue to work at to ensure that Barbados’ reputation is not sullied by the belief that Barbados is a jurisdiction through which money can be laundered or terrorism can be financed. Generally speaking, our evaluation went reasonably well as far as I have been advised and therefore we all as a nation should feel very good about that,” Stuart said. (AH)