CFATF LI PLENARY OUTCOMES

DECEMBER 2020

CFATF’s FIRST VIRTUAL PLENARY & WORKING GROUPS MEETING

Photo: Lt. Col. Edward Croft, Director of the Office of Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy of Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of the CFATF for the period November 2019-November 2020 (from left third column and third photo down) and participants at the LI Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during the period 9th -11th December 2020.

 

Photos: Participants at the CFATF LI Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during the period 9th -11th December 2020.

 

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, (Virtually) December 2020 – Outgoing CFATF Chairman, the Honourable Lt. Col. Edward Croft, Director of the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy of Antigua and Barbuda chaired the CFATF LI Plenary and Working Groups meetings which commenced virtually on 20th November 2020 and conclude on 11th December 2020.

This represented the final Plenary over which the Honourable Lt. Col. Edward Croft presided as he passed the baton to the Honourable Carl Wilshire Bethel, Q.C. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs who will hold the position of CFATF Chairman for the period November 2020 to November 2021. The Deputy Chairmanship is now held by Bermuda.

The main issues dealt with by this Plenary were:

  1. Mutual Evaluations
  • Discussion of the Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) of St. Lucia: The CFATF LI Plenary discussed the MER of St. Lucia which was prepared on the basis of the FATF Methodology and which set out the level of effectiveness of the country’s AML/CFT system and their level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations. Plenary approved the MER following discussions at both the CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) meeting and at Plenary. The MER is now being prepared for the post-Plenary Quality and Consistency (Q&C) process and will be published once the process is concluded.

 

  1. Adoption of Amendments to the CFATF Procedures for the Fourth Round of AML/CFT Mutual Evaluations
  • Amendments to the CFATF Procedures for the Fourth Round of AML/CFT Mutual Evaluations (“The CFATF Procedures) were adopted as necessary to ensure alignment with the Universal Procedures and are intended to strengthen the mutual evaluation process with the aim of better-quality Mutual Evaluation Reports (MERs). Please see WGFI outcomes below for further information.
  1. CFATF International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) Matters
  • Discussion and adoption of Jamaica’s 3rd Follow Up Report (FUR)
  • Approval of Sint Maarten’s exit from the Third Round of Mutual Evaluations
  • Follow-up Process for Barbados and Cayman Islands’ FURs with re-ratings
  1. Other Working Group Meetings held virtually:
  • CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (20th November 2020)
  • CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) (26th November 2020)
  • CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) (30th November - 1st December 2020)
  1. Other Updates Received
  • Supervision Project funded by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the UK”) and the Government of Canada (“Canada”)
  • 11th European Development Fund Implementation of the Mutual Evaluation Programme Project
  • Updates from the Group of Co-operating and Supporting Nations (COSUNs) and Observer Organisations
  1. CFATF Governance

For the period November 2020/November 2021, the Chairmanship of the CFATF is held by The Bahamas represented by the Honourable Carl Wilshire Bethel, Q.C. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. The Deputy Chairmanship is held by Bermuda. The position of Immediate Past Chair is held by Antigua and Barbuda, represented by Lt. Col. Edward Croft, Director of the Office of Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy, which ensures the tripartite governance of the CFATF.

 

 

CFATF Secretariat
January 5, 2021