Some seventy financial services providers, representing about forty offshore companies on the island, have been told about the Anguilla Government’s commitment to the international standards governing the financial services industry, and that Anguilla had been largely compliant in the third round of evaluations.
The information was given by Governor Christina Scott who has responsibility for offshore financial services; Perin Bradley, Comptroller of Inland Revenue and Chairman of Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the financing of Terrorism Enforcement; and Ana Folgar, Legal Adviser to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
The event was a training conference held at the Blue Ridge Conference Centre at South Hill on Friday, May 8. It was organised by the Anguilla Financial Services Commission and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. The training sessions were conducted by Ms. Folgar and her colleague, Mr. Jefferson Clarke, also from the CFATF.
Governor Scott said a great amount of work had gone into improving the quality of the island’s legislation. This included the Financial Services Act and the Money Services Business Act. She made the point that, with Anguilla now entering the fourth stage of evaluations, this action would test how effective the legislation is and how effectively it is being applied. The Governor expressed her support for Anguilla’s financial services industry and was pleased that the Government was committed to reaching compliance with international standards.
Mr. Bradley pointed out that the financial services industry was important for Anguilla and that the island had taken great pride in that it was now a well-regulated jurisdiction. He stressed that the threats of money laundering and terrorism financing were being taken seriously and that Anguilla was aware of the need for international cooperation to fight those threats.
In stating that Anguilla had been largely compliant with the third round of mutual evaluations, Ms. Folgar outlined the requirements of the fourth round of mutual evaluations which she said Anguilla must also meet. This will include implementation of further legislation and extensive investigation of persons in Anguilla and elsewhere involved in financial services on the island – and also matters of due diligence. She was assisted in her presentation by Mr. Clarke who examined issues related to third parties and risk assessments involving business organisations and customers.
Director of the Anguilla Financial Services Commission, Mr. Gerry Hallischuck, outlined how the financial services industry should be conducted to meet international standards. He welcomed the services of Ms. Folgar and Mr. Clarke in assisting the conference participants to better understand the requirements of the regulations governing financial services.
Mrs. Tina Bryan-Bannister, who has responsibilities for compliance and enforcement at the Anguilla Financial Services Commission, spoke about a number of initiatives undertaken by the Commission, to date, in carrying out its due diligence and other work on the island. She emphasised that the Commission was aiming at achieving 100 percent compliance with the financial services regulations.
The training conference had as its theme AML/CFT Compliance versus Complacency.
