**Hillary H. Deaveaux
Acting Executive Director
Securities Commission of The Bahamas**
The Securities Commission of The Bahamas, in collaboration with industry participants, seeks to promote and encourage the maintenance of high standards of conduct and management in the provision of services in the investment funds, securities and capital markets. This is an integral part of its mandate to forumulate *“principles to regulate and govern investment funds, securities and capital markets, as well as to maintain surveillance over investment funds, securities and capital markets to ensure orderly, fair and equitable dealings.”*
To this end the Commission has issued Interim Guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer Procedures for Licencees and Registrants. These guidelines have been issued pursuant to its authority in Section 94 of the Securities Industry Act, 1999 and Section 47 & 48 of the Investment Funds Act, 2003.
The SCB notes that the guidelines are provided on an interim basis and are intended to provide licencees and registrants of the Commission with direction as to the standards required for compliance with the provisions of the Financial Transaction Reporting (Amendment) Act, 2003 and the Financial Transaction Reporting (Amendment) Regulations, 2003.
By virtue of Section 2 of The Securities Industry (Amendment) Act, 2001 the Commission is mandated to satisfy itself that the provisions of the Financial Transaction Reporting Act, 2000 are being complied with. Section 48 of the Investment Funds Act, 2003 endows the Commission with the same responsibility as regards licencees and registrants under that Act.
Industry participants have been advised that the SCB will issue guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Know-Your-Customer Procedures for its licencees and registrants in the near future. These guidelines will only replace the existing Guidelines on Anti-Money Laundering issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit in 2001, with regard to Anti-Money-laundering and Know-Your-Customer procedures, thus licencees and registrants of the Commission should continue to apply the guidelines issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit on suspicious transactions reporting.