In the front table, from left to right: Ms Avelon Perry, Financial Advisor (CFATF Secretariat); Ms Celeste McCalla, WGFI Co-Chair; Mr Francis Arana, WGFI Co-Chair; Ms Dawne Spicer, Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat); the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, KC, JP, CFATF Chair (Cayman Islands); Mr Angelo Brete, Director FIU Aruba, CFATF Deputy Chair; Mr Loxly Ricketts, Deputy Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat); and Ms Cheryl-Ann Lister CFATF Immediate Past Chair (Bermuda).
Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, November 26th 2023 to December1st 2023 – The CFATF 57th Plenary and Working Group Meetings took place from November 29th to December 1st 2023 under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, KC, JP, Attorney General of the Cayman Islands.
The main issues dealt with by this Plenary were:
1. Mutual Evaluation Reports – 30th November and 1st December 2023: The CFATF 57th Plenary discussed the MERs – complete of the Virgin Islands and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These reports were prepared based on the FATF 4thRound Methodology. They set out the level of effectiveness of the country’s AML/CFT system and their level of technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations. The Plenary approved these MERs – complete following discussions at the CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) meeting and Plenary. The completion of the Post-Plenary Quality and Consistency (Q&C) process is pending, after which these reports will be published on the CFATF website.
2. CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (HoFIU)– 26th November 2023: The HoFIU was informed about updates by the Egmont Group’s Regional Representative for the Americas. The Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Reduce Tropical Deforestation (LEAP), United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), presented on the topic of “Illegal Deforestation and Associated Financial Flows”. Furthermore, a panel of experts discussed the risks of environmental crime and FIUs domestically and internationally. The CFATF FIUs’ activities in the Region were also presented in a paper. Additionally, the Financial Criminal Investigation Network (FCInet) from the Netherlands delivered a presentation, and COPOLAD provided information on technical assistance and training updates.
3. CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) – November 26th, 2023: The CRTMG addressed the outcomes of the FATF RTMG meeting in June and October 2023. Updates were also given on the CRTMG projects concerning the stocktaking exercise on ‘de-risking’ in the Caribbean region and the potential implications of a hybrid decriminalization approach or legislation of cannabis on AML/CFT. Regarding new projects, a presentation and concept note were shared which focused on ML vulnerabilities in the financial arrangements of non-traditional DNFBPs. The experts meeting scheduled for 2024 was also discussed. Lastly, the 2023 BREMOLT Awards were presented and voted on during the meeting.
4. CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) – 27th and 28th November 2023: The WGFI informed its delegates of the Key Issues (KIs) of the Mutual Evaluation Reports of the Virgin Islands (British) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The WGFI agreed to present four (4) KIs to the Plenary for discussion for the Virgin Islands (British). For the MER of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Working Group discussed five (5) KIs and concluded that only one needed to be submitted to the Plenary for discussion. A presentation was delivered on the outcomes of the June and October 2023 FATF Working Group meetings. Finally, the Working Group discussed amendments to the CFATF Procedures for the 4th Round of Mutual Evaluations.