Caribbean Financial Action Task Force holds Heads of FIU Forum on fifth round mutual evaluations, FIUs sign cooperation MoUs

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force reported that its 42nd Heads of Financial Intelligence Unit Forum, held during the 60th Plenary and Working Group Meetings, focused on preparing financial intelligence units and operational agencies for the fifth round of mutual evaluations, with asset recovery at the center. The main technical session covered revisions to Immediate Outcome 8 on asset recovery in the 2022 Financial Action Task Force methodology, including the features of an effective system and the types of information relevant to its core issues. Jamaica’s Financial Investigations Division presented a case study, "Report to Recovery," describing its asset recovery framework from the receipt of a suspicious transaction report or suspicious activity report through to confiscation of illicit assets, with a focus on gaps, lessons learned and elements of an effective regime. Delegates also received a regional update from the Egmont Group on its activities and on the applications of Haiti and Montserrat to join the group. In addition, the forum adopted its six-month update report covering activities from November 2024 to April 2025, including money laundering and terrorist financing risks identified by financial intelligence units and typologies produced during the period. The meeting also included a panel discussion on effective asset recovery frameworks, lessons learned and successes. Separately, memoranda of understanding were signed among financial intelligence units from Aruba, Anguilla, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago to strengthen international cooperation mechanisms.