Bank of Jamaica welcomes the announcement made on Friday, 28 June 2024 that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at its Plenary held in Singapore (26-28 June), removed Jamaica from the list of countries identified as having strategic deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks (‘the grey list’).
This action has significant positive implications for the country’s reputation in the international financial community. The development will enhance confidence among investors and trading partners thereby improving Jamaica’s economic potential. Exiting the enhanced monitoring process also sends an important signal to correspondent banking partners, who facilitate the transfer of funds internationally, that Jamaica is a reputable jurisdiction that now should not require enhanced review of transnational transactions. In this context, exiting the FATF ‘grey list’ is an important milestone in a series of initiatives aimed at significantly reducing or eliminating the threat of further de-risking by correspondent banks. In the recent past, de-risking negatively impacted the ability of some Jamaican financial institutions to provide services to persons and businesses. In addition, with the recent action by FATF, financial transactions between persons in Jamaica and those overseas, inclusive of remittance transfers, could now become more seamless over time.
It is important that the collective efforts and synergies that resulted in Jamaica exiting the FATF grey list become entrenched to ensure that Jamaica maintains its positive standing in the global economic and financial system. In this regard, Bank of Jamaica, working with other AML-CFT authorities, will continue the implementation of measures to strengthen its capacity for AML/CFT oversight.
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