On Thursday, The Bahamas will assume the chairmanship of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) with the appointment of the Attorney General and Minister of Education, Alfred Sears as the next Chairperson of that regional organization during it’s Ministerial Council meeting.
The position, according to the Attorney General will also provide The Bahamas with an opportunity to become a major player in the vital area of financial services regulation and oversight.
The CFATF is the regional body of the Financial Action Task Force which has as its function the harmonization and coordination of regional efforts to combat money laundering.
Mr. Sears told the Bahama Journal that the opportunity for The Bahamas to chair the organization presents an exceptional one for the country.
“It would be a wonderful opportunity for The Bahamas to help to shape the direction of the organization and to cultivate the kinds of relationships and dialogue with the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and other multilateral organizations outside of this region.
“We will also have an opportunity to sensitize and interface with the FATF in Paris so that there is a better understanding of centres such as The Bahamas and also to insist that there is a level playing field,” he said.
This would mean, Mr. Sears pointed out, that the standards and criteria applied to the Caribbean region including The Bahamas would be similarly applied to those European financial services centres.
Mr. Sears also said that it was very important for The Bahamas to be seen as a financial services sector that is free from money laundering “with internal safeguards and integrity in its system.”
This forum will also provide The Bahamas with an opportunity to explain to the region and the world what is happening in The Bahamas and the progress being made. Minister Sears also said that the meeting will offer a means of comparison as to where we are in relation to other countries.
“It also gives us an opportunity to see and hear what other countries are doing so that we gain a comparative sense that will gain us as we seek to keep our financial services sector at the cutting edge.”
The former Free National Movement (FNM) government submitting to pressure from international financial bodies such as the FATF and the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), enacted new legislation to strengthen regulatory procedures in the financial sector.
Recently, Ministers of the Progressive Liberal Party criticized the FNM administration for “rushing through” the legislation without proper consultation with professionals in the financial services sector.
Attorney General Sears opted not to comment on the matter because the matter is before the Supreme Court.
“It would be inappropriate of me to comment as the constitutionality of some of the laws are being contested and our court will hear arguments on both sides in due course to make a determination as to the validity of the laws,” he said.
Prior to the enactment of such legislation, The Bahamas was blacklisted by the Organization for Economic Development (OECD), the FATF and the FSF.
Guatemala now finds itself in a similar predicament. During the meeting here in Nassau , the Latin American country must comply with 25 principles of good conduct in order to be removed from the FATF list. So far, the country has complied with 16 of these principles, according to an FATF spokesperson. Guatemala ‘s banking regulator expects the blacklisting to come to an end in May 2003.
As of 14 October the Cook Islands , Egypt , Grenada , Guatemala , Indonesia , Myanmar , Nauru , Nigeria , Philippines , St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Ukraine were all on the FATF blacklist.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
