MAKING CRIME PAY_SETTING THE STAGE

Today, August 21, 2012 the Miscellaneous Provisions (Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago and Anti-Terrorism) Bill, 2012 is being debated in the Senate, the Bill was passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on Friday last. There are key areas of this bill to be addressed regarding anti money laundering and the combating of terrorism financing. The debate is significant since Trinidad and Tobago is earmarked for assessment by the Financial Action Task Force later this month. In a statement issued on June 22, the FATF noted that on February of 2010, Trinidad and Tobago announced its commitment to work with both the FATF and the CFATF in order to address pertinent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing strategic deficiencies. The FATF noted that since February of this year, Trinidad and Tobago demonstrated progress in improving its anti money laundering and combating of terrorism financing regime.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions.  Their objectives include, setting standards and promoting effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.  The FATF has developed a series of Recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  They form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field.  First issued in 1990, the FATF Recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.

Trinidad and Tobago is a founding member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), an inter-governmental organization established with the primary objective of developing and implementing effective anti-money laundering and terrorist financing systems among its members. As a CFATF member, Trinidad and Tobago is legally bound by the objectives set out in the Organization’s Memorandum of Understanding, as such it is important that Trinidad and Tobago, via its legislative and law enforcement framework, must feverishly seek to continously improve the country’s capacity to adhere to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations and 9 Special Recommendations against the Financing of Terrorism.

Money Laundering is the process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. It allows criminals to transform illegally obtained proceeds into seemingly legitimate funds. Money laundering is a threat to national security. It facilitates the narcotics, arms and ammunition trade, terrorists and any other persons engaged in incidental, instrumental and systemic levels of corruption as well as criminals working towards the expansion of their criminal enterprises. Keep in mind that criminals and criminality are generally fuelled by profit, criminal activity and the parallel networks then grow and expand.  Money laundering has devastating social, economic and political consequences, it intubates corruption and accounts for many of the social and economic problems being experienced  nationally and regionally.

End of Part 1.

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