CFATF LIV PLENARY OUTCOMES MAY-JUNE 2022 VIRTUAL PLENARY & WORKING GROUPS MEETING

Photo: Chairman of the CFATF, Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary, Bermuda, pictured in the first row, photo 4 from the left and participants at the LIV Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during the period May 17th to June 3rd, 2022.


Photo: Participants at the LIV Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during the period May  17th to June 3rd, 2022.

 


Photo: Participants at the LIV Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during the period May  17th to June 3rd, 2022.

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, (Virtually) May-June, 2022 – Chairman of the CFATF, Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary, Bermuda chaired the CFATF LIV Plenary and Working Groups meetings held virtually during period May  17th, 2022 to June 3rd, 2022.

The main issues dealt with by this Plenary were:

  1. Mutual Evaluations

Discussion of the Mutual Evaluation Reports (MER) of Grenada and Aruba: The CFATF LIV Plenary discussed the MERs of Grenada and Aruba which were prepared on the basis of the FATF 4th Round Methodology, and which set out the level of effectiveness of the country’s AML/CFT system and their level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations. Plenary approved the MERs following discussions at both the CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) meeting and at Plenary. The completion of the post-Plenary Quality and Consistency (Q&C) process is pending.

  1. CFATF International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) Matters (May 26th, 2022)
  • Outcomes of the FATF ICRG February (virtual) 2022 Working Group Meetings
  • Status Report on the FATF ICRG process
  • Discussion of the Follow-up Reports (FURs) for the mutual evaluations of:
  • Trinidad and Tobago (5th Enhanced FUR)
  • Bermuda (1st Regular FUR)
  • Update on the 4th Round Follow-up Process
  1. Other Working Group Meetings held virtually:
  • CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) (May 17th and 19th, 2022)
  • Donor’s Forum (May 20th, 2022)
  • CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (May 24th, 2022)
  • CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) (May 25th, 2022)
  1. Other Updates Received
  • The Supervision Project, extended for an additional period of three years (June 2021 – May 2024), continues to provide support to Members, with an additional element of providing desk-based assistance to the CFATF’s Mutual Evaluation (MEVAL) Programme.
  • The activities and achievements for the three-year period, June 2019 to May 2022 included a brief overview of the project, the activities and Members’ engagement. The Governments of Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland fully funded the Supervision Project, open to all CFATF Members, with the intended outcomes of achieving strong ratings in the Recommendations specific to IO.3 and its core issues.  

  Through the different tools developed:   

  1. Eleven (11) Members and Thirty-three (33) Supervisors benefitted from technical assistance, policy support and reviews of their existing AML/CFT supervisory systems.  
  1. A total of three hundred and three (303) persons from ten Members and 31 Supervisors participated in the Supervision Training Exercise, “Strengthening Supervisory Systems”, geared towards promoting a clear understanding of the requirements of IO.3.  
  1. The Supervision Advisor delivered:  
    • A presentation on “Understanding Risk to Promote Inclusion” in collaboration with the World Bank’s Technical Assistance Programme offered to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Members at the first “AML/CFT Risk-Based Supervision Banking Sector Dialogue and Collaboration Workshop”. \
    • A Tech Talk to the CFATF Secretariat on IO.3.  
  • Two surveys provided insights on how the COVID-19 pandemic (the pandemic) impacted AML/CFT supervisors in the region as well as their supervisory responses to the pandemic. The Supervision Advisor analysed the results and presented reports to all Members.
     
  • During the reporting period (November 2021 to May 2022) the CFATF 11th EDF Office undertook the following:

-1 Mutual Evaluation - The MEVAL Onsite for Suriname was executed on February 28th - March 11th, 2022.

-2 Pre-Assessment Trainings - 1 Virtual Live Streaming Pre-Assessment Training for Dominica was completed from 7th -9th December 2021 and 1 Pre-Assessment     (face-to-face) Training was delivered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines during the period 11th - 13th April 2022.  

-1 Standards Training - 1 Virtual Live Streaming Standards Training for Dominica was completed during 12th -14th January 2022.

  • The CFATF’s 11th EDF application for a 14 month ‘No-Cost’ Extension was finalized on 12th January 2022. An Addenda that adds 14 months to CFATF’s 11th EDF Grant Agreement was signed by the CFATF Executive Director in January 2022. The project now ends 2nd September 2024.
  1. CFATF Governance
  • For the period December 2021 to December 2022 the Chairmanship of the CFATF is held by Bermuda represented by Cheryl-Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Bermuda. The Deputy Chairmanship is held by the Cayman Islands represented by the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, Attorney General of the Cayman Islands. The position of Immediate Past Chair is held by The Bahamas, represented by the Honourable Ryan Pinder, Attorney General of The Bahamas which ensures the tripartite governance of the CFATF.

 

CFATF Secretariat
July 1, 2022