Faris in Paris

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi is in Paris, France, attending Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Week.

Al-Rawi, who spoke in the budget debate in the House of Representatives last Friday, left TT over the weekend for Paris.

FATF Week, which began on Sunday and ends on October 18, involves meetings with FATF representatives from 205 countries. The International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank and other organisations also participate in these meetings.

A statement on FATF's website said the six days of meetings will focus on "disrupting financial flows linked to crime and terrorism and discuss ways to contribute to global safety and security." Among the issues on the agenda are developments in the financing of ISIL, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates; FATF initiatives to combat financial flows from the illegal wildlife trade; and whether countries are regulating "the virtual asset sector to prevent its misuse for crime and terror."

In a report in June, FATF said TT was making progress in strengthening measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF identified the enactment in April of the Non-Profit Organisations Act 2019 as one of the ways this progress was being made.

Al-Rawi has publicly criticised the former PP government for not taking steps to ensure that TT was compliant with FATF regulations.

Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds will act as attorney general until Al-Rawi returns home.