BATT worried: TT on FATF grey list

TT is one of nine countries on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list for strategic deficiencies in Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism compliance standards.

This is of serious concern to the Bankers Association of TT (BATT), which has once again issued a warning about the consequences of failing to become AML/CTF compliant and failing to implement a Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

BATT said the FATF statement “can translate into severe economic challenges generally for all (while) there will be impact to banking operations locally if international correspondent banking relations become strained as a result.”

“The FATF list is a signal to banks globally to take precautionary measures with respect to their dealings with banks, clients, and transactions from territories on the FATF list. This statement, along with TT’s slow implementation of the CRS will place TT businesses in a disadvantageous position when negotiating with their international counterparts.”

In addition, BATT warned that TT would be given a higher country risk ranking, with all wire and other international transactions from as well as the operations of local banks being subject to greater scrutiny.

BATT is therefore urging Government to take the requisite steps to “expeditiously and urgently execute” the agreed action plan, which it said involves, for the most part, the strengthening of the several institutions responsible for the administration and enforcement of the AML /CFT regime in TT.