About CFATF
Overview
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an organisation of twenty-five (25) states of the Caribbean Basin, South, Central and South America, that have agreed to implement common countermeasures to address money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It was established following meetings convened in Aruba in May 1990 and Jamaica in November 1992.
In May 1990, representatives of Western Hemisphere countries, particularly from the Caribbean and Central America, convened in Aruba to develop a common approach to the phenomenon of the laundering of the proceeds of crime. Nineteen (19) recommendations constituting this common approach were formulated. These recommendations, which had specific relevance to the Region were complementary to the original 40 Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) established by the Group of Seven at the 1989 Paris Summit.
The Jamaica Ministerial Meeting was held in Kingston in November 1992. Ministers issued the Kingston Declaration, in which they endorsed and affirmed their governments’ commitment to implement the FATF and CFATF Recommendations, the OAS Model Regulations and the 1988 UN Convention. They also mandated the establishment of the Secretariat to co-ordinate the implementation of these objectives by CFATF Member countries.
The main objective of the CFATF is to ensure that its Members achieve compliance with and effective implementation of the FATF Recommendations, and in doing so, address money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The FATF is the premier inter-governmental organisation that sets the standards for preventing money laundering as well as terrorist and proliferation financing. As an FATF Style Regional Body (FSRB), the CFATF forms part of the Global Network and works with other stakeholder groups such as COSUNs and Observers. Consequently, the CFATF plays a critical role in promoting regional compliance with the FATF Standards.
The CFATF Membership are as follows:
| Antigua and Barbuda | Anguilla |
| Aruba | Barbados |
| Belize | Bermuda |
| Cayman Islands | Curaçao |
| Dominica | Grenada |
| Guyana | Haiti |
| Jamaica | Montserrat |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | St. Lucia |
| Sint Maarten | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Suriname | The Bahamas |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Turks and Caicos Islands |
| United States of America | Venezuela |
| The Virgin Islands (British) |
25
Member Countries
6
COSUN Countries
31
Observer Organisations/Countries
CFATF Secretariat
The Secretariat performs technical and administrative functions in accordance with the CFATF mandate under the direction of the Executive Director, supported by the Deputy Executive Directors, and is currently hosted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The CFATF Secretariat undertakes the following activities on behalf of the CFATF membership:
- An ongoing programme of the Mutual Evaluation of Members.
- Co-ordination of, and participation in, training and technical assistance programmes.
- Bi-annual plenary meetings for technical representatives to review and approve the outcome of Mutual Evaluations.
- Representing the CFATF interests at FATF Plenary meetings and before the Global Network.
- Conducting ML typology exercises, with collaboration with the FATF and other FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs).
For the period December 2025 to November 2026, the CFATF Chairmanship is held by Barbados, represented by the Honourable Wilfred Abrahams, S.C., M.P., Attorney General of Barbados. The CFATF Deputy Chairmanship for the same period is held by the Turks and Caicos Islands, represented by the Honourable Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles OBE K.C., Attorney General of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The CFATF Immediate Past Chair is held by Jamaica, represented by the Honourable Fayval Williams, Minister of Finance and Public Service.
The Executive Director of the CFATF is Ms. Dawne Spicer.