Finance Minister, Harold Lovell, confirms Antigua removed from FATF “Grey List”

Finance Minister Harold Lovell proclaimed that Antigua and Barbuda has been removed from the “Grey List” of the Paris based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He said, “The United Progressive Partyadministration has shown that we not only talk about accountability and adherence to the highest ethical standards associated with international norms, but we put or words into action.”

Lovell went on to add, “The hard work of the staff of the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, the ONDCP and the Ministry of Legal Affairs are to be highly commended as we continue to build a new economy. For Antigua and Barbuda to be labeled as compliant with international standards and practices is excellence news.”

The FATF, which is reviewing the compliance of countries with the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism AML/CFT standards, said Antigua and Barbuda has made significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime. It also said that the island has established the legal and regulatory framework to meet its commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified in February of 2010.

In its statement, the FATF concluded, “Antigua and Barbuda is therefore no longer subject to FATF’s monitoring process under its ongoing global AML/CFT compliance process. Antigua and Barbuda will work with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force CFATF as it continues to address the full range of AML/CFT issues identified in its mutual evaluation report.”

When he presented the national budget last month, Lovell had predicted that Antigua and Barbuda would be removed from the “Grey List” because he was certain that a review in December 2013 would have reflected Antigua and Barbuda’s efforts to improve compliance with the FATF’s 40 recommendations.

Source: Caribbean360