Criminal justice practitioners and experts from around the globe are attending the 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB). The meeting is taking place in St Vincent 14-16 November. Participants are discussing the recovery of criminal proceeds, which involves stripping criminals of their benefits from crime.

Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves gave the keynote address. Among the speakers are Director of Public Prosecutions (Ag.) from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms. Sejilla McDowall, Director (Ag.) of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Ms. LaTeisha Sandy and Mr. Colin John, Commissioner of Police of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. Two days of workshop based sessions will follow the AGM. Topics covered will include victim compensation, Proceeds of Crime legislation, mutual legal assistance and crypto currency threats to the region.

The Regional Security System – Asset Recovery Unit (RSS ARU) serves as the network’s permanent secretariat. The RSS ARU, based in Barbados, is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development and was set-up under the Regional Security System (RSS) in December 2015 to help the region tackle serious organised crime and corruption. The unit works closely with regional law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors, magistrates and judges to enhance their efforts in countering organised crime, by utilising proceeds of crime and money laundering legislation as essential components in financial investigation and asset recovery. The Presidency of the Network is currently held by St Vincent and the Grenadines, passing it on to Jamaica in 2019.

1. ARIN-CARIB is an informal network of practitioners and cooperating bodies concerned with all aspects of confiscating the proceeds of crime. The aim of the network is to increase the effectiveness of members’ efforts on a multi-agency basis in depriving criminals of their illicit profits.

2. The network was officially launched in June 2017 and, like its other counterpart networks in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions, ARIN-CARIB is dedicated to fostering international cooperation among law enforcement and judicial agencies in an effort to identity, disrupt and dismantle organised criminal groups operating transnationally.

Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro & Crown Counsel Larissa Burgess are the Bermuda representatives in attendance.

• Press release from the Bermuda Police Service