LEADERS in the financial sector and professionals have welcomed Jamaica’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list”, after the country completed actions to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) protocols.

The announcement was made on Friday following FATF’s three-day plenary session in Singapore where Jamaica and Türkiye were removed from the grey list while Monaco and Venezuela were added.

Jamaica was first added to the grey list in February 2020 and was threatened multiple times that it would be placed on the “black list” if it didn’t make haste in completing its action plan which had expired from January 2022.

Jamaica’s removal comes shortly after other regional countries were removed from the grey list. Barbados was taken off the list in February 2024, Panama and the Cayman Islands in October 2023, and Trinidad & Tobago in February 2020. Haiti remains the only Caribbean territory on the grey list, along with 20 other territories.

“An FATF team visited Jamaica in April this year and confirmed that substantial steps had been taken to improve its AML/CFT/CPF [counter-proliferation financing] programme and addressed all items on its action plan. These included enhancing its risk understanding on money laundering and terrorist financing, implementing risk-based supervision to its financial institutions, and the third example of oversight is demonstrating that accurate and up to date beneficial ownership information, that this is available on a timely basis,” said FATF President T Raja Kumar at Friday’s hybrid press conference.

The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism financing. Jurisdictions under increased monitoring are described as being on the grey list while others on a subject to a call for action are placed on the black list. There are currently 21 jurisdictions on the grey list and three on the black list. Being on the black list carries severe economic consequences for the countries included such as overseas banks reducing activity with the listed countries — a move which limits the ability to engage in commercial activities such as shopping online, importing goods and growing businesses.

The announcement, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter), was recognised with resounding applause as attorney-at-law Grace Lindo and compliance analyst Victoria Haughton commended the actions of all relevant parties in getting Jamaica off the list. Several other leaders also applauded the development.

“The removal of Jamaica from the grey list is a very positive development for the financial sector and the economy in general as it signals to international investors and financiers that Jamaica is a safe destination for their money. The achievement by the country is the result of years of hard work by legislators, regulators, the Ministry of Finance, and industry professionals across the financial services sector and several other sectors. We should all be proud of this and congratulate everyone involved,” said Christopher Zacca, Sagicor Group Jamaica president and CEO, in an email response to the Jamaica Observer.

Ramon Small-Ferguson, president of Jamaica Securities Dealer Association, added, “The fact that Jamaica has been removed from this list is tantamount, in my view, to the FATF validating our local regulations and compliance with all areas of CFT/AML, and further, that our local regulations are consistent with the canons of international best practices. Given the increasingly significant role played by local securities dealers in attracting and allocating capital to far-reaching national projects such as infrastructure and major commercial projects, this validation from the FATF provides a further boost to our local capital markets.”

“This finding will allow Jamaica to close a challenging but extremely edifying chapter, even as we begin a new one where we will consolidate and build on the achievements of this period. This chapter allowed us to develop a framework for ensuring that Jamaica’s AML/CFT/CPF infrastructure is always up to date, relevant, and tailored to our circumstances. This framework will also support our broad-based economic programme; allow for greater financial inclusion; and will serve us well as we continue to develop our financial, legal and law enforcement services while ensuring that we are in a good position to meet future evaluations,” stated Jamaica’s Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke in his opening remarks at the Singapore plenary.

Singaporean President Kumar’s term as FATF president ended today, June 30, with Friday’s session being the sixth and final plenary under his presidency. Mexican Elisa de Anda Madrazo will become the next FATF president for a term spanning from July 2024 – June 2026. Anda Madrazo has outlined five key priorities for her presidency which will include ensuring a successful start to the new round of assessments; strengthened cohesion of the global network; and supporting effective implementation of revised FATF Standards with a focus on asset recovery, beneficial ownership, and virtual assets.

Jamaica will assume the chair of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in December 2024 when it hosts the organisation’s 59th plenary session in Jamaica. Aruban M R (Angelo) Brete is the current chair of CFATF for 2023-2024, with Trinidadian Dawne Spicer as the executive director of CFATF. Dr Clarke is currently the deputy chair of CFATF and will assume the chair in December.

“As such Jamaica, like other countries, is now preparing for the globally applicable fifth round of AML/CFT/CPF mutual evaluations scheduled to take place in mid-2026. Before end of 2025 Jamaica will therefore need to amend or introduce new laws to (i) regulate virtual assets and virtual asset providers (ii) make the registration of non-profit organisations mandatory and (iii) promulgate regulations that address certain targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation,” the Ministry of Finance press release closed.