THE Caribbean continued its effort to strengthen operational capacity to tackle transnational financial crime with the staging of a five-day training seminar in Jamaica last month.

The February 23 to 27 seminar held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston brought together representatives from law enforcement agencies, prosecution authorities, customs, financial investigations and asset recovery entities, tax administrations and other government institutions, including the Asset Recovery Unit of the Regional Security System (RSS).

Organisers said the seminar provided a practical forum for participants from different jurisdictions and professional disciplines to deepen relationships, share experiences, and reinforce the foundations of effective regional cooperation.

Led by project consultants GovRisk, the seminar was staged by the RSS in its capacity as permanent coordinating secretariat for the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

“The training is but one of the interventions under the IDB/RSS Joint Investigations Framework project which seeks to establish the legal and operational framework for multilateral or bilateral cooperation among states to jointly conduct criminal investigations. It aligns with the broader strategic objectives of the ARIN-CARIB to develop joint interoperable measures for use across jurisdictions in arresting cross-border crime. The training also aligns with one of the core pillars of the IDB’s ONE Caribbean programme — Citizen Security,” a news release from the IDB explained.

Among the key areas covered were trends and typologies of illicit financial flows, existing mechanisms for international cooperation in the region, the logistics of multi-jurisdictional investigations, the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) framework and types of international cooperation, leveraging international relationships to support anti-money laundering regimes, and legal strategies for successful prosecution.

“This initiative is groundbreaking from the perspective of the IDB. We have really redoubled our efforts across the Americas and the Caribbean to look at how we can take the profit out of crime, and the reality is that this is a really important undertaking for regional and national development,” the release quotes IDB Senior Sector Specialist Jason Wilks.

“Crime and violence accounts for about 3.7 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) of our countries in the Caribbean. In the broader Latin-American space it’s 3.4 per cent, but across the Caribbean it’s even a larger share. And across those two areas it’s about $190 billion that goes to crime and violence. Converse to what we think about compliance, we’re only spending, maybe $15 [billion] to $20 billion on compliance,” added Wilks.

“So, there’s a real need for us to come up with solutions that work at the level of scale and work at the level of efficiency to address this real monster; and I’m very happy that, from the bank’s perspective, we’re able to support that. Our ‘One Caribbean’ programme, we’re very, very proud of it. It’s about where we can learn from each other, where we can consolidate the good practices that we see in one island or in one country and make sure it’s working across a space,” said Wilks.

Kisha Sutherland, director of the RSS Asset Recovery Unit with primary responsibility for the ARIN-CARIB Secretariat, outlined the RSS’s support to the development of the JIT framework, stating, “The Regional Security System remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening regional capacities to deprive criminals of illicit profits by developing curated mechanisms, policies, and procedures to counter money-laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”

She said that given the well-connected criminal economy involving the sale and purchase of goods and services across several jurisdictions, the region must enhance its law enforcement arsenal with mechanisms that permit the fusion of information, investigative and other technical capacities from relevant agencies in real time.

“The RSS endorses the JIT’s framework as a viable tool of international cooperation in the fight against crime, and looks forward to supporting the region in adopting this innovative model,” Sutherland said.

Speaking to the practical value of the seminar’s approach, Jamaica’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ashtelle Steele said: “Jamaica and our partners have taken on the fight to take the profit out of crime. We commend this training, and there is honestly nothing else that I would add. This hybrid approach of this training was excellent — the theoretical aspect and the practical aspect. Working with customs experts, forensic experts, prosecutors and investigators from within the region, was very effective and has encouraged the common three Cs — communication, cooperation and collaboration.”

Veneta Weaver-Ali of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, who spoke on behalf of the participants, extended “sincere appreciation for the exceptional leadership and guidance” throughout the joint investigative team workshop.

“Your expertise in coordinating this cross-border financial investigations, mutual legal assistance processes and operational strategy has not only strengthened our technical capacity but has served to reinforce the spirit of international cooperation that underpins effective asset recovery. The practical insight you shared with us, and immersive care simulation, and your openness in discussing the real world challenges [I think] have served to equip us with tools that we can immediately operationalise within our respective homes and jurisdictions,” Weaver-Ali said.

From left: Jason Wilks, senior sector specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank; Jamaica’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ashtelle Steele; seminar co-facilitator and British fraud and financial crime specialist Mark Stuart Heffer; Veneta Weaver-Ali of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service; and seminar co-facilitator William Durrant, UK-based counter fraud specialist.