Caribbean Financial Action Task Force against Money Laundering (CFATF) – a FATF-style regional body in the Caribbean established in May 1990.

The member states of the CFATF jointly implement measures aimed at combating money laundering.

The supreme body of the CFATF is the Council, which is composed of one representative from each member state (the Minister or official of equal rank). The Council is headed by the Chairman.

Plenary sessions are held at least twice a year. The meetings are attended by one representative from each member state.

The CFATF Secretariat monitors the implementation by the member states of the Kingston Declaration, adopted in 1992, which affirms the basic goals and objectives of the regional body, taking the following steps:

• self-assessment with regard to the implementation of the recommendations
• program of mutual evaluation of member countries
• coordination and participation in training programs and technical assistance
• conducting biannual meetings for technical representatives
• annual ministerial meetings

The CFATF secretariat has developed a regional strategy for technical assistance and training to assist the member states in the effective conduct of investigations and prosecutions in cases related to money laundering and confiscation of assets.

History

Representatives of Caribbean and Central American countries developed a general approach to the problem of the laundering of criminal proceeds in 1990 in Aruba and made 19 Recommendations (the Aruba Recommendations). These proposals cover the specifics of the region and complement the FATF’s 40 Recommendations. A meeting of ministers was held in Kingston, Jamaica in 1992, resulting in the Kingston Declaration. The ministers endorsed and approved the commitment of the member states to implementing the FATF and Aruba Recommendations, model legislation developed by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. Following the meeting, the Secretariat was established to coordinate their implementation by the CFATF member states.

The CFATF has associate member status within the FATF.

Member states

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermudas
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• Netherlands Antilles
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Surinam
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Venezuela

CFATF observers

• FATF
• Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering
• Caribbean Development Bank
• CARICOM
• CARIFORUM
• Commonwealth Secretariat
• Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units
• European Commission
• Financial Action Task Force against Money Laundering in South America
• Inter-American Development Bank
• International Monetary Fund
• Interpol
• Organization of American States/Inter-American Commission on Drug Control
• The Board of Customs and law enforcement agencies in the Caribbean
• The Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center
• The Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors
• The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
• The UN Office on Drugs and Crime
• World Bank

In addition to the observers in the CFATF, there are so-called cooperating and supporting countries which have been overseeing the work of the CFATF since 1990, while providing technical assistance and training:

• Canada
• France
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States 

Official site: http://www.cfatf-gafic.org