Attorney General and Justice Minister Kim Wilson kicked off proceedings at the Compliance Summit II held by the Association of Bermuda Compliance Officers at the Fairmont Southampton yesterday.

Ms Wilson gave an overview of the history of some the legislative and operational initiatives implemented in Bermuda to ensure compliance with international standards and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Other highlights for the first day of the two-day event, included a speech by Matthew Elderfield, CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), and Tom Galloway of the BMA, discussing the work of the Authority and its goals, and a review of recent legislation, and the final session of the day will be a "town hall" style meeting to debate the America-Bermuda relationship in financial services, focusing on a number of planned pieces of tax legislation which could impact the Island and are set to be heard in US Congress.

"I would note that notwithstanding all of the work done to date, we understand that money launderers and those involved in financing of terrorism are continually looking for ways to exploit the global financial system," she said. "We are cognisant that the requirements to address these challenges are also changing. Bermuda therefore will continue to review, update and implement our national action plan of legislative and operational initiatives to ensure that our framework remains strong and robust.

"We will also continue to work with industry, standard setters, regulatory and law enforcement bodies and other relevant parties to ensure that we play a positive and significant role in this all-important fight and that we retain our reputation as a quality international financial centre."

Today, Brad Kading of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers will address tax information exchange agreements and the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Bill that Congress is being asked to enact, with former money launderer turned financial crime expert Kenneth Rijock of World Check wrapping up the programme with a talk on "Tales from the Dark Side".