Ja removed from FATF Grey List
Published:Saturday | June 29, 2024 | 12:09 AM
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) yesterday removed Jamaica from its Grey List.
After four years on the list, the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog struck Jamaica from the list of countries assessed as having strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
The decision was made by FATF at a meeting in Singapore yesterday.
Jamaica’s minister of finance and the public service, Dr Nigel Clarke, led a Jamaican delegation to the FATF meetings in Singapore.
In a statement yesterday, FATF said it welcomed “Jamaica’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime”.
According to FATF, Jamaica strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime to meet the commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that FATF identified in February 2020.
In that regard, FATF concluded that Jamaica is no longer subject to its increased monitoring process.
In February 2020, Jamaica was placed on the Grey List by FATF. Placement on the list signals to international financial and other institutions to take special care when transacting with entities and individuals from FATF Grey Listed countries. This makes transacting with FATF “Grey Listed” countries more expensive.
Clarke said while Jamaica celebrates this milestone achievement the country must never again give the global standard setter for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes reason to grey list Jamaica.
Clarke said Jamaica, like other countries, is now preparing for the globally applicable fifth round of AML/CFT and counter proliferation financing meetings scheduled to take place in mid-2026.
He said before the end of 2025, Jamaica will need to amend or introduce new laws to regulate virtual assets and virtual asset providers, make the registration of non-profit organisations mandatory and promulgate regulations that address certain targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation.