Several online brokerage facilities- TD Ameritrade, Scottrade and Options Xpress have placed T&T on Restricted Country List that they don't do business with. Details weren't forthcoming on when or why the country was placed on this list. Ameritrade told the Guardian it took this decision on December 2, 2010. (See Business Guardian) The decicion was taken before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) met in France last week which determined that T&T was a jurisdiction which was not "making sufficient progress" with its compliance with FATF recommencations.
The FATF is a Paris-based inter-governmental body "whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing". One of the requirements of FATF is a functional Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Aware of the country's deficiencies in this regard, the banking fraternity met with Attorney General Anand Ramlogan last week. "As financial institutions operating in the international environment, T&T's current status as a territory with strategic deficiencies in the anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism framework, which has remained unchanged since February 2010, has impacted our country risk rating. Some member banks have reported that this categorization has already influenced their relationship with correspondent banks," Scotiabank's managing director Richard Young told the Guardian.
"Any elevation from this "gray list" could mean that local companies' ability to transact business, particularly banking business with other countries may be severely impacted. This will affect both the private and public sector," he explained. He said the longer that T&T remains on the list of countries identified as having strategic deficiencies in the anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism framework, is the greater the stigma attached will becomes. He pointed out that small Caribbean countries that were described as "non-cooperative" by the FATF in 2000 such as St Kitts/Nevis, St Vincent and Dominica are still reeling from the effects. "It is therefore critical that the outstanding action plan items be speedily addressed and our sector stands ready to provide any assistance that may be necessary in this regard," he said.
Young congratulated the Government on the appointment of a Director of the FIU which, he says, will go a long way towards fully operationalising the FIU, which is an area of concern for the FATF.
The issue was first raised by Diego Martin North East MP Colm Imbert on January 15. Imbert had pointed out that because of the Government's failure to establish the FIU and banking regulations, a number of foreign financial institutions are refusing to open accounts and do business with people and corporations registered in T&T.