2000 Conference Speeches

Press release - Terrorism (press)
Press release - Terrorism (members)

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an organisation of states of the Caribbean basin which have agreed to implement common counter-measures to address the problem of criminal money laundering. It was established as the result of meetings convened in Aruba in May 1990 and Jamaica in November 1992.

In Aruba representatives of Western Hemisphere countries, in particular from the Caribbean and from Central America, convened to develop a common approach to the phenomenon of the laundering of the proceeds of drug trafficking. Nineteen recommendations constituting this common approach were formulated. These recommendations, which have specific relevance to the region, are complementary to the forty recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force established by the Group of Seven at the 1989 Paris G7 Summit.

The Jamaica Ministerial Meeting was held in Kingston, in November 1992. Ministers issued the Kingston Declaration in which they endorsed and affirmed their governments commitment to implement the FATF and Aruba Recommendations, the OAS Model Regulations, and the 1988 U.N. Convention. They also mandated the establishment of the Secretariat to co-ordinate the implementation of these by CFATF member countries.

The main objective of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force is to achieve effective implementation of and compliance with its recommendations to prevent and control money laundering. The Secretariat has been established as a mechanism to monitor and encourage progress to ensure implementation of the Kingston Ministerial Declaration.

As of November 1996, CFATF members are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Montserrat, The Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua Panama, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, The Turks & Caicos Islands, Trinidad & Tobago.

The CFATF Secretariat monitors members implementation of the Kingston Ministerial Declaration through the following activities: · Self assessment by member countries of the implementation of the FATF and CFATF recommendations. · An ongoing programme of Mutual evaluation of members. · Co-ordination of, and participation in, training and technical assistance programmes. · Biannual plenary meetings for technical representatives. · Annual Ministerial Council meetings.

In furtherance of its mandate to identify and act as a clearing house for facilitating training and technical assistance needs of members, the Secretariat works closely with regional Mini-Dublin Groups, the diplomatic representatives of countries with interest in the region, in particular the Co-operating and Supporting Nations of the CFATF: Canada, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and, finally, international organisations. Included among these international organisations are OAS/CICAD, CARICOM, the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC), the Centre Interministeriel de Formation Anti Drogue (CIFAD), Association of Caribbean Chiefs of Police (ACCP), the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the International United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).

The CFATF Secretariat is hosted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The CFATF Chairman is Hon. Edgar (Watty) J. Vos, Minister of Justice & Public Works, Aruba.

Calvin E. J. Wilson, the CFATF Executive Director, is a national of Trinidad and Tobago, and a member of the Bar of England and Wales and Trinidad and Tobago. He was a former Senior Crown Prosecutor in the United Kingdom for eight years and is a member of Lincoln's Inn.

Pierre Lapaque, seconded by the Government of France, is the Deputy Director. He comes to the CFATF with fifteen years experience in the French Police with his last posting in Nice as Chief of the Fraud Squad in the French CID.