Smith: Bahamas has opportunity to lead the way in global compliance

The Bahamas has the opportunity to lead the way in global compliance, according to CG Atlantic Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer Derek Smith, who said this jurisdiction is already exceeding international standards.

Speaking following his presentation to regional and global stakeholders at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists’ (ACAMS) 3rd Annual AML & Anti-Financial Crime Conference this week, Smith said The Bahamas must build upon the progress made in recent years in meeting best practice standards.

“I believe unequivocally that The Bahamas is meeting and in some areas exceeding those standards. With the suite of legislation implemented in 2018 and the Compliance Commission of The Bahamas in particular adhering to that legislation, that places us in an even better position than some of the more developed countries like the United States,” he said.

“The United States is the biggest enabler through their lawyers and real estate agents for illicit funds from kleptocracy. And the reason that is happening in the United States is because real estate agents and attorneys do not necessarily have to subscribe to the robust AML regimes that the banks have to subscribe to. In The Bahamas that’s not the case. In The Bahamas, the Compliance Commission, which handles lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, they are all subject to our FTRA (Financial Transactions Reporting Act, 2018), so they cannot work outside of the AML/CFT regime that the banks are accustomed to. So even though we are a developing country we are ahead of the pack in reference to ensuring we maintain and sometimes exceed them.”

Smith said The Bahamas needs to stay ahead of industry shifts which typically change at a breakneck speed.

“Some of the priorities for 2022 is the inclusion of cyber security regulations and developing a standardized approach to what is generally required from the supervisor authority. I think industries are well-prepared to accept it and are happy to partners and have conversations with supervisory authorities in the implementation of such regulations,” he said.

Smith said while the average Bahamian may not fully appreciate the importance of compliance, cyber hygiene is critical to the protection of Bahamian workers, businesses, corporations and government.

“The reason why it’s important in general is, the better your hygiene is, the better persons are aware of the do’s and don’ts. The safer your personal information is, the company’s business is. And what that does is it sends a signal to our international investors that we have the right framework, designs and education levels and the right awareness levels for them to feel comfortable investing in the country. It also keeps us off of these grey lists and black lists and maintains the reputation of The Bahamas,” he said.

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