Caribbean Financial Action Task Force annual report highlights completion of fourth mutual evaluation round and 2026 launch of fifth round on sites

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force has published its 2024-2025 annual report, setting out the close of its fourth round of mutual evaluations and its transition to the fifth round across its 25 member states. The report says the final mutual evaluation reports for Curaçao and Sint Maarten were adopted in May 2025 and published in July 2025, completing the fourth round, while preparatory work for the next cycle advanced through assessor training, revised standards training and pre-assessment support. The report also highlights follow-up work that produced improved technical compliance ratings for several jurisdictions, including the Virgin Islands British, Suriname, St. Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. By the end of 2025, nine member countries had exited the fourth-round follow-up process, almost 100 individuals had been qualified as fifth-round assessors, and more than 640 participants from seven member jurisdictions had been trained on the revised Financial Action Task Force standards and methodology. Other developments covered include expansion of the secretariat's staffing, completion of a report on money laundering vulnerabilities in the financial arrangements of non-traditional designated non-financial businesses and professions, the United States' admission as the 25th member, and the organisation's move from bilingual to unilingual operations. Looking ahead, the report states that the first four fifth-round on-site visits are scheduled for 2026, with the CFATF aiming to maintain the quality and consistency of evaluations while expanding technical support for members.