For the past two weeks, Montserrat has participated in an onsite mutual evaluation assessment by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the regional body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which measures the jurisdiction’s compliance with the FATF’s recommendations and the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing framework.
The team of five Assessors leave the island tomorrow (April 20, 2024) and will produce a draft mutual evaluation report which will be shared with Montserrat in due course. Montserrat is committed to addressing any recommendations identified in the final report and ensuring the availability of necessary resources for this purpose.
Representing Montserrat during the evaluation were Her Excellency The Governor, Mrs Sarah Tucker, The Premier, Honourable Joseph E. Farrell, Hon Attorney General, Sheree Jemmotte-Rodney, Financial Secretary, Hon Lindorna Lambert-Sweeney and key personnel from the other Competent Authorities including the Financial Services Commission, Montserrat Customs and Revenue Service (MCRS), the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Royal Montserrat Police Service (RMPS) and the Chief of Immigration.
Her Excellency The Governor said: “It underscores a country’s commitment at the highest level to ensure that standards are met and that the FATF recommendations are adhered to. It clearly demonstrates our readiness to address any identified issues with the necessary resources promptly and effectively. Montserrat is a founding member of the CFATF and we remain steadfast towards upholding international best practice standards on money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing”.
Attorney General and Head of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing Committee (NAMLAC), Hon. Sheree Jemmotte-Rodney added: “The CFATF Mutual Evaluation process has not been easy, and there is a lot of work still left to be done. Having come to the end of this phase in the process, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to all of the Public Sector agencies who have worked tirelessly over the past few years and months to prepare for this Mutual Evaluation. Sincere thanks is also extended to all of our Private Sector counterparts, who have engaged fully in the process, and have evidenced quite clearly their commitment towards ensuring that Montserrat, as a jurisdiction, has a robust and effective AML/CFT Framework. It has been a truly collaborative approach, which reflects positively on Montserrat”.
The onsite visit for the 4th Round Mutual Evaluation of Montserrat was conducted from April 8 to 19, 2024.
This ongoing mutual evaluation process is confidential and seeks to ensure that the integrity of the process is upheld and stakeholder engagements are optimised.