CHIEF executive officer of the Real Estate Board Sandra Garrick is urging real estate professionals to utilise the guidance that anti-money laundering (AML) inspectors provide to ensure compliance with the law.

She is also encouraging members of the industry to familiarise themselves with the completed AML Guidelines for Real Estate Professionals, which are intended to provide persons and companies operating in the sector with the necessary best practice guidance.

The guidelines also aim to ensure compliance with the law, while also protecting the integrity of the industry.

The CEO was speaking at a webinar on the amended AML Guidelines for Real Estate Professionals on Tuesday.

“As the competent authority under the Proceeds of Crime (Designated Non-Financial Institution) (Real Estate Dealers) Order 2013, the board is mandated to provide guidance and to monitor the industry to mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. As such, we have worked diligently on and have completed a set of guidelines which are intended to provide you with the necessary legislative and best practice guidance to ensure compliance with the law and to protect the industry,” she said.

Garrick noted that last year, Jamaica was ‘grey listed’ by the Financial Action Task Force that monitors AML compliance around the world, for gaps in the country’s anti-money laundering regime.

“Our guideline is a step towards addressing these gaps related to the real estate industry. We have also extended our proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering training to include development training and also the Terrorism Prevention Act training,” she said.

Garrick said the board remains available for consultation and will continue to provide as much information as possible through its website, ad hoc training, printed materials and various AML examinations.

“Our inspectors have chosen, for the first part of the monitoring, to provide more guidance than sanctions, and so please avail yourselves of the guidance that the AML inspectors provide, so that we don’t have to get to the sanctions,” she urged.

Garrick argued that if each individual salesman and dealer exercises the necessary due diligence in his or her own operations, it will go a far way in shoring up the wider industry.

Meanwhile, chairman of the board, Andrew James said the guidelines should be utilised in conjunction with the training provided by the board during pre- and post-licensing training.

Providing an update on the amendments to the guidelines, legal officer of the Real Estate Board, Christopher Henry, said the August 2019 guidelines were updated following amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) and the Terrorism Prevention Act (TPA) amendments in November 2019, which, among other things, designated the Real Estate Board as the “competent authority” for the real estate industry in matters related to AML.

With the amendments, he noted, the Real Estate Board can issue directives to any entity it regulates and conduct inspections, among other measures. The board is also now required by law to retain statistical information, and entities within the industry are required to keep records of transactions for up to seven years.

During the session, a report on Jamaica’s AML National Risk Assessment was presented by executive director, Prime Contact Secretariat, Bank of Jamaica, Hope Wint.

The Prime Contact Secretariat monitors the country’s compliance with the global AML and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) framework.