Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, has issued the third Anti-Money Laundering-Anti-Terrorist Financing ministerial advisory of the year about the risks in certain jurisdictions arising from inadequate systems and controls to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 require the Bermuda regulated sector and relevant persons to apply enhanced customer due diligence to high-risk countries.

POCA regulations require that a relevant person must apply on a risk-sensitive basis enhanced customer due diligence measures to business relationships with customers in instances where a person or a transaction is from, or in, a country that has been identified as having a higher risk by the Financial Action Task Force or the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.

Such requirements also pertain to instances where a person or transaction is from, or in, a country which represents a higher risk of money laundering, corruption, terrorist financing or being subject to international sanctions.

As the international anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism standard-setter, FATF regularly publishes statements that identify high-risk countries based on assessments of their AML/CFT regimes.

Last month, the FATF published two lists identifying jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes.

In response, the minister has advised the regulated sector and relevant persons to consider as high risk North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, and apply countermeasures and enhanced due diligence.

The minister also advised appropriate actions to minimise the associated risks from some 23 countries, which may include enhanced due diligence measures in high-risk situations.

The countries include Barbados, Jamaica and the Philippines.

• For the full list and the minister’s advisory statement, see Related Media

Download PDF File

AML-ATF Ministerial Advisory 3-2023.pdf