submitted 84 reports to the Bermuda Police regarding 540 financial transactions staff suspected of having to do with money laundering.

The Proceeds of Crime Act came into effect in January 19 last year in an attempt to crack down on money laundering activities and keep Bermuda's reputation clean.

The figures are an indication of the kind of paperwork and reporting activity companies have had to do to stay on the right side of the law.

The Proceeds of Crime Act for the first time required specified institutions and staff to have in place procedures for reporting attempts to pass money tainted by crime though the financial system and make it legitimate. The act put the onus on banks, deposit companies, and other firms involved in the financial services industry to submit reports on suspicious activities that might indicate money laundering was being attempted, or their staff could face conviction and the company fined.

In 1998 Bermuda's deposit companies submitted 42 reports involving 506 transactions to the Police financial investigation unit. Each report may be on a number of financial transactions by a single customer. The Island's three banks submitted 34 reports on suspicious activities to the Police. A trading member of the Bermuda Stock Exchange submitted one report, while an international company, described as a long-term insurer, submitted one report.

Non-regulated companies, those that are currently not required to report on financial transactions suspected of being involved with crime, also submitted six reports during the year.

Kerrie Aubrey, assistant vice president and money laundering reporting officer for the Bank of Bermuda Ltd., said yesterday an estimated 25 percent of all money worldwide is estimated to be derived from crime.

In some places such as Russia the figure could be as high as 50 percent, while in the UK an estimated seven to nine percent of the money is estimated to be dirty.

She believes that the percentage for Bermuda could by less than the UK's estimate. Still, even with that percentage, the amounts could be large when a bank's treasury department could deal in up to $1.5 billion worth of transactions a day.

Yesterday, The Royal Gazette reported The Bank of N.T. Butterfield and Son Ltd. was named in an ongoing Canadian court case as having been used to funnel CAN$60,000 in drug money.

Former police commissioner Colin Coxall estimated about $50 to $60 million worth of drug money a year was being laundered locally on the Island.

Ms Aubrey said the amounts make it important for institutions to ensure their staff are properly trained to ask the right questions.

"We have a responsibility to ensure the source of the funds,'' she said in a talk at the Bermuda Insurance Institute yesterday. "It's good business.'' However, she said there were still some areas that needed to be worked out in the new legislation.

Companies on lookout for suspicious money Regulated institutions were still working out how to co-operate with each other when customers needed to pass funds from one to the other. There was some question over whether a customer needed to go through the whole vetting process again, even though he had already been through the procedure at another company on the Island.

"We need clarification,'' she said.

Bermuda was also waiting on a draft report from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force delegation which had visited the Island in June last year to report on Bermuda's compliance with international standards.

Finance Ministry assistant financial secretary Peter Sousa said Bermuda expected the draft report shortly after which it will be submitted back to the regional organisation along with Bermuda's responses.

The report will then be reviewed by the organisation and eventually detail Bermuda's compliance with international standards.

The report will be important in that it will help or hinder Bermuda in attracting international business depending on what the organisation determines about the Island.

"We are optimistic about getting a favourable review,'' Mr. Sousa said.