Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals (DNFBPs) are being encouraged to utilise the recently launched website of the Compliance Unit of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
To access the website, the DNFBPs, namely accountants, attorneys-at-law, dealers in precious metals and stones, and real estate agents, should log on to https://complianceunit.gov.bb.
At the launch of the website on Wednesday, Legal Officer, Janeille Evelyn, said the Compliance Unit’s engagement with the DNFBP sector had been a two-way street and the website would be a further enabler of such interchange.
Ms. Evelyn stated: “We regard the launching of our website as a step towards intensifying our efforts to thwart criminal enterprise and further reduce the vulnerability of the sector and by extension, that of our country, and enhance the protection of our reputation.”
Stating that we were living in a very complex and challenging time, the Legal Officer noted that some international bodies were placing significant pressure on small jurisdictions to comply with their global measures to prevent organised crime, corruption and terrorism, while criminals continually sought to circumvent the financial and regulatory régimes for their own gain.
The cost of weak AML CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) régimes is so high that it can significantly impact the daily life of our citizenry, whether through the interaction with banking systems, or through threats to our very identity….
“Our small jurisdictions are forced to adapt as we face increasing cyber threats to our data, the need to expend resources on AI technology and data protection services, and devise strategies for the protection and oversight of our “gatekeepers”. Through the supervision and regulation of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals, the Compliance Unit endeavours to safeguard this sector, while promoting ethical conduct, awareness and compliance,” Ms. Evelyn explained.