June 25, 2021 – Grenada’s initiatives to combat anti-money laundering and terrorism financing were examined over the last two weeks, as the country participated in the Mutual Evaluation Assessment by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

The two-week review started on June 14, with a high-level introductory meeting between Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell and the team of assessors.

The routine exercise conducted by the CFATF, sought to examine the processes and structures Grenada has in place to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction. 

In welcoming the team during a hybrid virtual and in-person meeting, Dr. Mitchell underscored Grenada’s commitment to the fight against cross-border criminal activity.

He said, “We place a lot of emphasis on protecting the image of the country and ensuring that no one will be allowed to use Grenada as a source for criminal activity. We live in a world where criminal activity is becoming more and more complex but we are committed to the fight against crime and in collaborating where necessary to reduce its incidence. We are fully committed to upholding international standards and best practices as they relate to anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing procedures.”

Dr. Mitchell, who is also the Minister for National Security, spoke of the growing challenge of cyber-crimes. He said, “If the great United States is having difficulty in this area, one can only imagine what the Caribbean is facing with its limited resources. However, it is an area we have to focus on and we are committed to doing that. We have faced challenges in this area before but we continue to do all we can to remain a step ahead of the criminals.”

The Prime Minister assured the team of CFATF assessors of Grenada’s full cooperation in the peer review process. 

During the course of their assessment, the CFATF team met with a range of individuals in both the public and private sectors Including the Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorist Financial (AML/CFT) Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, commercial banks, credit unions, money business services and other stakeholders. Attorney General, Dia Forrester, who is also Chair of the AML/CFT Commission, said the review is important as Grenada’s aim is to ensure that we are constantly reducing the ability of persons to utilise the proceeds of criminal activity to the detriment of the country; reviewing and assessing what changes can be made and implementing recommendations to improve the country’s success in this particular area.