Bahamas: National Risk Assessment Report (Summary)

Published: Tuesday December 12th, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

Bahamas Releases Summary Report of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment

The Bahamas remains committed to the implementation of international standards in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. In keeping with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, the jurisdiction has released a summary report of the National Risk Assessment (NRA). The NRA received approval from the Government of The Bahamas (the Cabinet) on December 5, 2017. It represents the combined efforts of more than a dozen public and private sector stakeholders.

Vulnerabilities identified at the national level were found to include:

• the need to strengthen and enhance the AML/CFT framework and implementation of same;
• the need to boost resources (manpower, IT tools, formal procedures, specialized training) for border control;
• the need to boost prosecutorial resources;
• the need for timely Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) data analysis and dissemination to stakeholders (feedback to financial institutions and data to financial crime investigators) and to boost resources to address this issue;
• the need to boost resources for asset forfeiture investigators;
• the need for the identification and development of cross-cutting, appropriate data collection and analysis techniques and mechanisms; and the need for regulatory briefings and outreaches to financial and non-financial sector licensees and registrants; and
• there are also sector-specific high level findings.