Briceño Administration Intent on Passing FATF’s Mutual Evaluation Exercise

Chris Coye

Last night we told you about the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s evaluation exercise in Belize and how important this is for the nation’s corresponding banking relationships. Through the exercise, CFATF is assessing Belize’s legislative compliance in combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  The taskforce is also seeking to determine the effectiveness of these laws. As a result, a suite of new legislations, and amendments to existing legislations, are being brought before the House and Senate for debate. Senator Chris Coye, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance sought to explain the importance of the exercise to Belize’s economy.

Chris Coye, Government Senator

“That process really started December of last year with the insight visit by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force in December of this year. But, as part of that process or in that process Belize will be evaluated on two main components, one is technical compliance and the second is effectiveness in enforcement of our laws as it relates to anti-money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. These are some heavy issues we have to address and it is a tall order on Belize, a small country and government. But at the same time the importance of meeting compliance both in terms of technical compliance as well as effectiveness cannot be underscored enough. We have gone through this process before. There was a third round of mutual evaluation process that occurred back in 2013 or thereabout and Belize failed and what was the result of that failure? The FTAF to its members suggested that counter measures be undertaken. The effect of those counter measures, it is not a coincidence that in that same time period Belize lost over eighty percent of its corresponding banking relationships, the domestic banks. Belize was the most affected in the entirety of the Caribbean in terms of the loss of corresponding banking relationships.”