CFATF 59^th Plenary and Working Group Meetings Outcomes

 In the front table, from left to right: Ms. Cheryl Greenidge, Director, Bank Supervision, Central Bank of Barbados; Mr. Wendell Lucas, Deputy Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat); the Honourable Ms. Fayval Williams, Minister of Finance and Public Service, Jamaica, CFATF Deputy Chair; Mr. Angelo Brete, Director FIU Aruba, CFATF Chair; Mr. Héctor Sevilla, Deputy Executive Director (CFATF Secretariat), the Honourable Mr. Samuel Bulgin KC, JP, Attorney General of the Cayman Islands, CFATF Immediate Past Chair and Mr. Francis Arana, WGFI Co-Chair.

The Princess Grand Resort Jamaica, – The CFATF 59^th Plenary and Working Group Meetings took place from December 1^st to 6^th, 2024, under the Chairmanship Mr. Angelo Brete, Director FIU Aruba. 

The main issues addressed by the Plenary were:

1. Mutual Evaluation Reports – December 2^nd and 3^rd, 2024: The Working Group discussed the MERs of Belize and Montserrat. These reports were prepared based on the FATF 4^thRound 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 is ongoing for both MERs hence, which will be published on the CFATF website within the 1^st quarter of 2025.
2. CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (HoFIU) – December 1^st, 2024: The primary focus of the Forum was the suspension of transactions based on the new FATF requirements of Recommendations 4 and 40. Consequently, a presentation was done by the Cayman Islands FIU titled “Transaction Suspension: The Past, Present and Future-Cayman Islands FIU” and a round-table discussion was also conducted on “Pause! Mastering the Art of Suspending Transactions”. Furthermore, COPOLAD delivered a presentation on a technical guide on crypto-currency financial investigations. Delegates also deliberated on a proposed CFATF Regional CFT Forum, for which a document will be developed for delegates’ comments. 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.
3. CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) – December 1^st, 2024: The CRTMG presented the outcomes of the FATF RTMG meeting in October 2024. Delegates were informed of the 2024 Experts’ Meeting to support the project on “Money Laundering Vulnerabilities in the Financial Arrangements of Non-Traditional DNFBPs.” The project start-up for the Regional Terrorist Financing (TF) Assessment and an update to the 2023 VASP Project Report were also discussed. An update was presented for Money Laundering Vulnerabilities in the Financial Arrangements of Non-Traditional DNFBPs project. Regarding the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU), a working group was established to review the possible synergies between the MMOU, the CRTMG’s Regional TF Risk Assessment Project and the proposal for a CFT Forum. The working group will report its findings to the May 2025 plenary. In addition, Guyana won the CRTMG Best Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing (BREMOLT) Case Award.
4. CFATF WGFI - December 2^nd and 3^rd, 2024: The WGFI informed its delegates of the Key Issues (KIs) of the Mutual Evaluation Reports of Belize and Montserrat. The WGFI agreed to present one KI to the Plenary for discussion for Belize. For the MER of Montserrat, the Working Group discussed three (3) KIs and concluded these should also be submitted to the Plenary for discussion. Delegates were presented with summaries of the outcomes of FATF Working Group Meetings held in June and October 2024. 

5. CFATF International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) – December 3^rd, 2024: At this meeting, the Working Group was informed that two (2) Follow-up Report (FUR) with technical compliance re-ratings, Saint Lucia (4^th Enhanced FUR) and Suriname (2^nd Enhanced FUR) were approved via the written process. The FURs for the Antigua and Barbuda (6^th Enhanced FUR), Turks and Caicos Islands (5^th Enhanced FUR), Virgin Islands (1^st Enhanced FUR) Saint Kitts and Nevis (3^rd Enhanced FUR), Venezuela (2^nd Enhanced FUR) and Aruba (1^st Regular FUR) were brought forward to the Working Group for information purposes only. Updates on the FATF ICRG June and October 2024 were provided to the Working Group. These focused on, inter alia, the status of CFATF Members in the Americas Joint Group for June 2024, the revision to the ICRG 5^th Round prioritisation criteria. Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba and the Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba also exited the 4^th Round Follow-up process. 

6. Delegates were also informed on the CFATF 4^th Round Follow-up Process for Cayman Islands, Haiti, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and Guyana. The outcomes of the FATF ICRG June and October 2024 Working Group Meetings were presented and included 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 and The Commonwealth of Dominica. Actions taken by the CFATF Members on the FATF Public Statements issued in June 2024 were communicated to the delegates. 

7. Other Updates Received: The CFATF 11^thEDF project was carded to end in August 2024. However, a 15-month extension was granted, from September 2024 to November 2025. The 11^th EDF oversaw two (2) activities between July and December 2024; one 5^th Round  Joint  Assessors Training FATF/CFATF from July 8^th to 12^th, 2024 and continued nominations for access to the  Virtual  Learning and Collaborative Centre (VLCC)  along  with  the  Virtual  Learning  and  Collaborative  An Information  Technology  E-Learning  Officer was appointed  and is developing   content   for   the VLCC. Delegates were also informed that by August 31st, 2024, the Project completed all scheduled MEVAL training events and Mutual Evaluations as well as produced several communication and public awareness resources. Finally, the 11^th EDF provided updates on upcoming activities for 2025. 

8. CFATF Governance: From December 2024 to December 2025, Jamaica, represented by the Honourable Ms. Fayval Williams, Minister of Finance and Public Service, holds the Chairmanship of the CFATF. The Deputy Chairmanship is held by Barbados and is represented by the Honourable Dale Marshall, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. The position of Immediate Past Chair is held by Aruba and is represented by Mr. Angelo Brete, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, which ensures the tripartite governance of the CFATF.

CFATF Secretariat

January 9^th, 2024.