FATF reports and communiqués are closely followed by BFSB and all key stakeholders internationally since it is the global standard setting body in the fight against money laundering and terrorism finance. It is for this reason that BFSB has been in consistent dialogue with The Government and Regulators regarding FATF related matters.
It is important for The Bahamas to be able to demonstrate the adequacy of its systems and resources to meet its international commitments; FATF has confirmed that The Bahamas is in fact meeting its commitments on an expeditious basis.
The FATF has noted that *”The Bahamas continues to show progress in its responsiveness to requests for cooperation relating to Anti-Money Laundering and international requests which will in due course form the basis for discontinuation of monitoring of The Bahamas”.* The pace of response given by Bahamian authorities for matters involving predicate offenses in The Bahamas and other consolidated supervisory matters is impressive. The FATF reported that (i) all matters at December 31, 2004 were current, (ii) 90% of enquires received over a 4 month in 2005 were completed and, (iii) The Bahamas FIU continued to operate effectively.
The Bahamas continues to be a leader in the provision of wealth management services having made significant investment over the years in not only international regulatory matters but in the quality of its human resources and range of products available to service a discerning clientele.