The Financial Intelligence Unit is a statutory body responsible for receiving, analyzing, obtaining and disseminating information that relates to or may relate to the proceeds of crime in an effort to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

Money Laundering is the process by which monies generated by criminal activities are converted through legitimate channels into assets that cannot be easily traced back to their illegal origins.

Process: Placement → Layering → Integration

Placement: The launderer introduces his illegal profits into the financial system. After the funds have entered the financial system.  

Layering: The Launderer engages in a series of conversions or movements of the funds to distance them from their source. Having successfully processed his criminal profits through the first two phases, the launderer then moves them to the third stage.  

Integration: Having successfully processed his criminal profits the Launderer’s funds re-enter the legitimate economy. 

Terrorist Financing is the direct, indirect, or willful provision of funds, financial services or where such services are made available or an attempt to make such services available, where there an intention or knowledge that the funds are to be used in whole or part in reference to a terrorist act. 

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation. FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas. 

The Egmont Group is an international organization that facilitates cooperation and intelligence sharing between national financial intelligence units to investigate and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation, and any other related crimes. 

Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an FATF Regional Style Body (FSRB) that has twenty-five member states and territories that have agreed to implement common countermeasures to address the problem of criminal money laundering, terrorism and proliferation. 

Reporting forms are submitted via our online platform: caseKonnect 

• Suspicious Transaction Reports 
• Inter-Agency Reports 
• Terrorist Property Reports
• Traveller’s Declaration Reports 
• Production Order Returns 
• Freeze Order Requests 

These include among others: 

1. Participation in an organized criminal group and racketeering 
2. Terrorism, including terrorist financing 
3. Trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling
4. Sexual exploitation, including sexual exploitation of children 
5. Illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
6. Illicit arms trafficking 
7. Illicit trafficking in stolen goods 
8. Corruption and bribery 
9. Fraud 
10. Counterfeiting currency 
11. Counterfeiting and Piracy of products 
12. Environmental crime 
13. Kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage-taking 
14. Robbery or theft 
15. Smuggling 
16. Extortion 
17. Forgery 
18. Piracy  
19. Insider trading 
20. Market manipulation

The FIU processes and analyze information received and disseminate actionable intelligence in appropriate cases to relevant law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies. 

FIUs exchange information with other FIUs via the Egmont Secure Web (ESW) on the basis of reciprocity or mutual agreement consistent with the procedures understood by the requesting and requested party. The requesting FIU must provide the reason for the request, the purpose for which the information will be used and sufficient information to enable the requested FIU to determine whether the request is consistent with its domestic laws.