JAMAICA is a step closer to becoming “a full-fledged member of the international community of financial intelligence agencies and investigative agencies” with the approval of several amendments to the Financial Investigations Division (Amendment) Act 2013 by the House of Representatives yesterday.

This, after an application by the Financial Investigations Division, following the passage of the Financial Investigations Division Act in 2010, to the Egmont Group was turned down as the division was not in compliance with certain standards.

The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units is an informal international gathering of financial intelligence units (FIUs) which provide a forum for financial intelligence units around the world to improve co-operation in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism and to foster the implementation of domestic programmes in this field.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, piloting the legislation through the Lower House, said acceptance by the Group would “help make Jamaica a more desirable environment”.

“The Bill seeks to amend the Act to ensure compliance since we consider it of importance for the international community that Jamaica be part of the effort to not only prevent, reduce or eliminate money laundering, but also to combine our intelligence on global financial transactions which may facilitate terrorism or other criminal acts,” he noted.

Furthermore, he said membership of the Egmont group is one of the outstanding issues that needs to be addressed in order to end the close monitoring of the Jamaican Anti-Money Laundering Financing of Terrorism Standards by the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce.

Leader of Opposition Business in the House Delroy Chuck, commenting on behalf of Opposition Spokesperson on Finance Audley Shaw — who is off the island — said there was not much dispute on the matter which was seen as “a tidying up” of the statute.

“There can be no doubt that it’s an important part to bring Jamaica within the international community of financial bodies so that when persons do business with Jamaica they don’t have to be looking behind their backs. Huge sums of money are circulated in the international financial sector and a fair amount of it has to do with money laundering and also to finance terrorism,” Chuck said.

Section 2 of the Act has been amended to clarify the definition of competent authority making it an entity authorised by the minister to monitor the compliance of business in the regulated sector with the requirements imposed by law for the prevention of financial crimes. In addition Section 12 (7) of the Bill was also amended after the group called the independence of the FID into question.