CFATF 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings Outcomes

 

In the front table, from left to right: Mr. Andrew Frection, 11th EDF Project Manager (CFATF Secretariat); Ms Dawne Spicer, Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat); Mr. Angelo Brete, Director FIU Aruba, CFATF Chair; Mr. Wedell Lucas, Deputy Executive Director (Incoming) (CFATF Secretariat); Mr. Héctor Sevilla, Deputy Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat) and Mr. Loxly Ricketts, Deputy Executive Director (Outgoing) (CFATF Secretariat).

Hyatt Regency Trinidad, June 2nd to 7th, 2024  – The CFATF 58th Plenary and Working Group Meetings took place from June 2nd to 7th, 2024,  under the Chairmanship Mr. Angelo Brete, Director FIU Aruba.  

The main issues addressed by the Plenary were:

  1. Mutual Evaluation Reports – June 3rd and 4th, 2024: The CFATF 58th Plenary discussed the MERs of Anguilla and Guyana. 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 following discussions at the CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) meeting and Plenary. The Post-Plenary Quality and Consistency process was completed for both MERs with no comments from the Global Network; hence, the reports were subsequently published on the CFATF website in July 2024.
  2. CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (HoFIU) – June 2nd, 2024: The 40th CFATF HoFIU Forum took place on under the theme “Activating potential: Maximising the impact of FIUs”. The HoFIU was informed about updates by the Egmont Group’s Regional Representative for the Americas and the status of CFATF Member countries’ applications for membership into the Egmont Group. Additionally, the HoFIU Forum reviewed the latest six-month update on their members’ activities and the outcome of the training provided by the Cooperation Program between Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union on Drug Policy, also known as COPOLAD. The Financial Intelligence Unit of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines presented on “Quality over Quantity”, which focused on a case study where STR analysis led to dissemination of an intelligence report to LEAs and successful outcomes. The CFATF Secretariat also delivered a presentation on the “Overview of the achievements and challenges of FIUs in the 4th Round MEVAL: Preparing FIUs for the 5th Round MEVAL”.
  3. CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) – June 2nd, 2024: The CRTMG addressed the outcomes of the FATF RTMG meeting in February 2024. Updates were also given on the CRTMG project on “Money Laundering Vulnerabilities in the Financial Arrangements of Non-Traditional DNFBPs.” In addition, Belize proposed the creation of a Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) among the Membership to put into effect certain parts of Recommendation 6.2, which will be further discussed at the December 2024 Plenary. The 2024 ML/TF Cases update was also presented.
  4. CFATF WGFI - June 3rd and 4th, 2024: The WGFI informed its delegates of the Key Issues (KIs) of the Mutual Evaluation Reports of Anguilla and Guyana. The WGFI agreed to present four KIs to the Plenary for discussion for Anguilla. For the MER of Guyana, the Working Group discussed three KIs and concluded these should also be submitted to the Plenary for discussion. The draft Procedures for the 5th Round of CFATF AML/CFT/CPF Mutual Evaluations and Follow-up were discussed and forwarded to the Plenary for approval. Finally, a presentation was delivered on the outcomes of the February 2024 FATF Working Group meetings. 
  1. CFATF International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) – June 4th, 2024: At this meeting, the Working Group discussed one (1) Follow-up Report (FUR) with technical compliance re-ratings, Haiti (4th Enhanced FUR) and Barbados (5th Enhanced FUR), with the latter being approved via the written process. The Working Group agreed with the proposed changes to the Haiti’s 4th Enhanced FUR and recommended same to Plenary. The FURs for the Cayman Islands (5th Enhanced FUR); Grenada (2nd Enhanced FUR), and the Commonwealth of Dominica, (1st Enhanced FUR) were brought forward to the Working Group for information purposes only. Moreover, the discussions of the Working Group included the Status Report on the FATF ICRG process for Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Suriname, Venezuela, The Commonwealth of Dominica and the Virgin Islands. Updates were provided on the 4th Round Follow-up Process for Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Aruba. The delegates were also updated on the revision of the ICRG prioritization threshold for the 5th Round in February 2024. The outcomes of the FATF ICRG June 2024 Working Group Meetings as well as the actions taken by the CFATF Members on the FATF Public Statements issued in June 2024 were presented to the Working Group. 
  1. Other Updates Received: The CFATF 11thEDF Office undertook several projects between December 2023 and May 2024. The Mutual Evaluation on-site visit for Belize was executed from December 4th to 15th, 2023. Moreover, the 11th EDF invited countries to nominate persons for access to the Virtual Learning and Collaborative Centre in April 2024. Nominations from 10 countries were received by May 30th, 2024. These nominations would be verified, and profiles for each person would be created. One 5th  Round Joint Assessors Training Seminar was held from July 8th to 12th, 2024 at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre in Trinidad and Tobago. As the 11th EDF project will end in August 2024, the handover process for the IT deliverables was completed in July 2024.  
  1. CFATF Governance: From December 2023 to December 2024, Aruba, represented by Angelo Brete, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, holds the Chairmanship of the CFATF. The Deputy Chairmanship is held by Jamaica and is represented by the Honourable Dr. Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and Public Service, Jamaica. The position of Immediate Past Chair is held by The Cayman Islands and is represented by the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, KC, JP, Attorney General of the Cayman Islands, which ensures the tripartite governance of the CFATF.

 

CFATF Secretariat

August 14th, 2024