A compliance expert has urged regulated entities and other related institutions in Barbados that they remain under the microscope of international watchdog agencies, and it was incumbent that all their regulatory and compliance standards are maintained to ensure the island’s standing as a well-regulated hub.
Glenna Smith, the Managing Director of Smith Compliance Consulting and a certified anti-money laundering specialist, emphasised the importance of this posture as the island prepares for another round of mutual evaluations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Smith, a director of the Caribbean Regional Compliance Association issued the admonition during her presentation titled Anti Money Laundering, Compliance and Staying Off Blacklists at the Global Business Week Conference 2024 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados as part of the annual Global Business Week hosted by BIBA, the Association for Global Business.
In her advice to delegates, Smith noted: “We’re actually already under the microscope. Everything we’re doing now, and everything we even did last year, is already being measured. We are undergoing an evaluation, and there is a five-year data capture period going backwards.
“Barbados is going to have its next mutual evaluation with the evaluators on site in June of 2027. . . And six months before that, there’ll be a technical questionnaire that will be distributed. Barbados will start receiving, submitting and providing information, providing data, and so on to the assessors. That’s likely to come out in December of 2026.”
In this connection, the compliance expert urged all entities and agencies that will be involved in the process to ensure they are well prepared, that they provide prompt and complete responses to the questionnaires.
Moreover, she stressed that senior management, including CEOs must become as knowledgeable about compliance matters in the institutions as the compliance officers that are employed there.
The hybrid conference, a key fixture on the Barbados’ business calendar, attracted delegates from the region and internationally, as it addressed topics such as taxation, ESG, compliance, renewable energy, innovation, business facilitation, reinsurance, branding, data analytics, captive insurance, and AI.
GBWC 2024 sponsors included Concorde Bank Limited, Seaco SRL, and VM Wealth Management Ltd.
The Global Business Week corporate backing included Diamond sponsor Invest Barbados; Platinum sponsor, the International Business Unit of the Ministry of Energy and Business; Gold sponsors were the Central Bank of Barbados, CIBC Caribbean Bank, and Nuvisual Media. The Silver sponsors were RBC, Lex Caribbean Attorneys-at-Law, Vistra (Barbados) Limited, EY Management, PWC East Caribbean, Scotiabank, Trident Trust, Clarke Gittens Farmer, and KPMG. (BIBA)