Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, is looking to establish a Cabinet Ministerial Sub-committee to oversee the evaluation of Barbados??? anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
He made this disclosure this morning at the launch of Barbados??? Mutual Evaluation Exercise at Radisson Aquatica Resort.
The week-long exercise is a collaboration between the Office of the Attorney General as this country???s Prime Contact to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the Anti-Money Laundering Authority and the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Its aim is to prepare Barbados??? legal, law enforcement and financial sectors to be assessed by the CFATF in relation to its anti-money laundering/counter-financing of terrorism regime, using the Financial Action Task Force???s 40 Recommendations against money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Explaining that the Sub-committee would include the Ministers of Finance and International Business and Commerce, Mr. Brathwaite said that its establishment would signal how important the process was to Barbados and to Cabinet.
He told his audience: ???The work that you will be doing over the next week and in the coming months will be of paramount importance to us as a country. If there are weaknesses in terms of our legislation or structure, we have to address them. ???We need to get it right as a country.???
He stated that the proposed Cabinet Sub-committee would have an overall view of the ongoing processes, so as to ensure that any legislative deficiencies identified would be addressed.
The Mutual Evaluation Exercise is an important process in determining a country???s ability to protect itself against financial crimes. It is also used to test a country???s regulatory and investment institutional framework.
Barbados??? last Mutual Evaluation in the Financial Action Task Force???s Third Round of Mutual Evaluations was in December 2006. The country???s evaluation in the Fourth Round is scheduled for December 5 to 16 this year.
kathyann.husbands@barbados.gov.bb