Belize Receives Training to Prepare for Anti-money Laundering Compliance Evaluation

Belize will find out from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, in the months ahead, how effective our efforts have been in countering money-laundering and related activities. The C.F.A.T.F. is currently conducting an evaluation that will extend into 2024. But before that stage, personnel from the task force are in Belize to conduct training with the relevant parties to understand the evaluation process. Today’s session included the public sector ministries, departments, and other government agencies. News Five spoke with two officials from C.F.A.T.F. to find out more about their roles in this phase of the process.

Pedro Harry

Pedro Harry, Law Enforcement Advisor, C.F.A.T.F.

“Money laundering is the proceeds of criminal conduct which is given some level of design to give some level of legitimacy. Belize will be assessed in line with the methodology which is the forty recommendations that deal with money laundering, tariff financing and proliferation financing. Also, the assessment team will be assessing Belize’s level of compliance and effectiveness with the eleven immediate outcomes. We’ll be giving Belize guidance as to what information is needed to satisfy the technical compliance requirements within the methodology and we’ll be giving Belize guidance as well as to what is required to satisfy – to demonstrate the level of effectiveness within Belize to address money laundering, tariff financing, and proliferation financing as well. What we also doing is to prepare Belize for the on-site visit, which is scheduled for December so that the agencies – Police, Customs, Immigration, etcetera that deal with money laundering, tariff financing and proliferation financing are properly prepared so when they speak to the assessment team, they are knowledgeable as to what is required to demonstrate the effectiveness.”

Hector Sevilla

Hector Sevilla, Legal Advisor, C.F.A.T.F.

“One part of the process will focus on whether the current legislation and regulations meet the standards established by the Financial Action Task Force.

We are trying to tell through this training the methodology of the FATC to assess the safety system and it is looking in this particular area: how the authorities are performing in terms of investigating, prosecuting, and getting convictions of criminals, so there are many areas that should be kept in mind in order to achieve a good system and it includes having good resources, good procedures, good laws, people that are properly trained and maintain good statistics, make an assessment of which and also prosecute crimes based on an understanding of those risks.”