CFATF 55th Plenary and Working Group Meetings Outcomes

 Photo from left to right: Members of the Head table of the CFATF- Ms. Camille Renie, Legal Advisor, WGFI Co-Chair Mr. Francis Arana (Cayman Islands), WGFI Co-Chair Ms. Celeste McCalla, Ms. Dawne Spicer, Executive Director, Ms. Cheryl Lister (Bermuda) CFATF Chairman (2021-2022), Mr. Loxly Ricketts, Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Samuel Bulgin, (Cayman Islands) CFATF Deputy Chairman (2021-2022) and Mr. Ryan Pinder (The Bahamas) CFATF Immediate Past Chairman (2021-2022).

 

Photo: Delegate leaders comprising Attorneys General, Ministers and CFATF Secretariat team, His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Martyn Roper (seated, 4th left), the Premier, Hon. Wayne Panton (seated 3rd right); Financial Services Minister Hon. André Ebanks (1st left)and Attorney General and emcee for the event, Hon. Samuel Bulgin (1st right); (standing): Solicitor General, Ms Reshma Sharma (2nd left), MP Ms Barbara Conolly (3rd left), Chief Justice, Hon. Margaret Ramsay-Hale (5th left), Speaker Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks (6th left); Acting Deputy Governor, Hon. Gloria McField-Nixon (7th left), Health and Wellness Minister, Hon. Sabrina Turner (8th right) and Cabinet Secretary (7th right). CFATF Chair Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Lister, (seated 4th right) will pass on the baton of CFATF chairmanship to Attorney General Bulgin. Photo credit: Cayman Islands Government LinkedIn page

 

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November to December 2022 – Chair of the CFATF, Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary, Bermuda chaired the CFATF 55th Plenary and Working Groups Meetings during period November 27th, 2022, to December 1st, 2022. This was the first in-person Plenary and Working Group meetings since the Plenary held in Antigua and Barbuda in November 2019.

The main issues dealt with by this Plenary were:

  1. Mutual Evaluations

Discussion of the Mutual Evaluation Reports (MERs) of Venezuela and Suriname: The CFATF 55th Plenary discussed the MERs of Suriname and Venezuela 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/CPF system and their level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations. The 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) (November 29th, 2022) 
  • Outcomes of the FATF ICRG June (hybrid) and October 2022 Working Group Meetings.
  • Status Report on the FATF ICRG process for Jamaica, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis.
  • Discussion of the Follow-up Reports (FURs) for the Mutual Evaluations of:
  • The Bahamas - 5thEnhanced FUR (Re-rating).
  • Jamaica - 5th Enhanced FUR (Re-rating).
  • Turks and Caicos - 1st Enhanced FUR (Re-rating)
  • Antigua and Barbuda – 4th Enhanced FUR.
  • Saint Lucia – 2nd Enhanced FUR.
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis – 1st Enhanced FUR.
  • Update on the 4th Round Follow-up Process (Other Jurisdictions - Trinidad and Tobago,
  • Barbados, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Grenada, Bermuda and Aruba).
  • Actions taken by the CFATF Members on the FATF Public Statement of June 2022.
     
  1. CFATF Working Group on FATF Issues (WGFI) (November 27thand 28th, 2022)
  • Presentation of FATF Working Group Meetings - June and October 2022.
  • Presentation by the International Monetary Fund on Beneficial Ownership.
     
  1. CFATF Heads of FIU Forum (November 29th, 2022)
  • Updates from the Egmont Group of FIUs.
  • Presentations on Proliferation Financing Risk Assessments and Virtual Assets.|
     
  1. CFATF Risk Trends and Methods Group (CRTMG) (November 27th, 2022)
  • Outcomes of the FATF RTMG meeting - June and October 2022.
  • Discussion of CRTMG Projects.
     
  1. Other Updates Received

During the reporting period May – November 2022, the CFATF 11th EDF Office undertook the logistical preparations for the following:

  • 1 Mutual Evaluation Mission
    • The MEVAL Onsite for Dominica conducted between the 15th – 27th August 2022.
  •  1 MEVAL Pre-Onsite Meeting/Training for Dominica conducted in Trinidad between the 11th – 14th July 2022.
  •  1 Pre-Assessment Training executed in Guyana over the period of 12th -14th October 2022.

The 11th EDF Project will end in September 2024. This extended period allows the Project to provide support to the last three (3) CARIFORUM countries with upcoming MEVAL assessments in the 4th Round. 

  1. CFATF Governance
  • For the period December 2022 to December 2023 the Chairmanship of the CFATF is held by The Cayman Islands represented by the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, KC, JP, Attorney General of the Cayman Islands. The Deputy Chairmanship is held by Aruba represented by Milangelo Brete, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Aruba. The position of Immediate Past Chair is held by Bermuda, represented by the Cheryl-Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance for the Government of Bermuda, which ensures the tripartite governance of the CFATF.

 

CFATF Secretariat

December 20th, 2022