Global measures to tackle money laundering include regional and international laws, procedures and regulatory sanctions. These are all geared toward lifting the lid on criminals who seek to hide illicitly acquired wealth under the cloak of respectable, legitimate income.
As international financial transactions become more complicated, (see for example the proliferation of the use of cryptocurrency in international finance) the job of regulators seeking to enforce anti money laundering measures is one that is constantly evolving. In the Bahamas as elsewhere financial institutions, commercial organisations as well as the professional services sector all have an important role to play in helping to stop money laundering. This includes a responsibility to alert authorities to suspected instances of money laundering if detected.
Of course, money laundering, corporate structuring and safeguarding transparency are all highly sensitive areas. Any suggestion that a country or organisation is somehow suspect in this regard is highly damaging. That’s why the Bahamian government was so quick to endorse the EU’s January 2022 decision to quickly remove the threat of including the Bahamas on its list of countries requiring additional money laundering checks.
ParrisWhittaker is an award winning corporate law firm in the Bahamas. We work closely with clients to ensure they carry out all necessary due diligence and comply with any relevant transparency measures. We’re available on 1-242-352-6110 and 1-242-352-6112 or you can always contact us online.
What Is The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Blacklist?
The European Union’s Anti Money Laundering (AML) Blacklist seeks to identify risks presented to the EUs internal market by third countries. It isolates jurisdictions around the world it believes have insufficient measures in place to guard against money laundering and related crimes. Countries that appear in that list are identified as high risk.
Why Does The AML Blacklist Matter? Aside from the reputational damage blacklisting by the EU causes to a country, transactions involving funds coming from blacklisted countries are subjected to onerous checks by EU and international financial institutions and professionals like lawyers and accountants. In practical term this curbs and slows down commercial activity in any blacklisted country.
Why Did The EU Suggest Including The Bahamas on The AML List?
The threat, made in 2020, was both unusual and unexpected. The government said it was ‘blindsided’ at the time. The Attorney General of the Bahamas indicated that any deficiencies raised by international organisations in the Bahamas’ approach to money laundering had already been identified and corrected at the time the EU took its decision.
Bahamas Reaction To Possible AML Inclusion
What matters is that, as of January 2022 the Bahamas is no longer under the cloud of possible inclusion in the list. The government engaged immediately with the EU and submitted additional data relating its AML framework. As a result the EU concluded that any strategic deficiencies that did exist had been properly addressed and that the Bahamas should therefore be deleted from the EU’s AML Blacklist.
How We Can Help
Corporate transparency and compliance with all regulatory obligations is key. Failure to have proper regard to these matters can be fatal to any business operating in the Bahamas. Our lawyers provide expert legal advice on all matters relating to corporate and commercial law, including corporate transparency. Schedule an appointment with us today. Contact us at ParrisWhittaker for an initial, no-obligation discussion.
