Reuters news agency has reported that Jamaica is among twelve countries the European Commission is set to add to its list of states that pose financial risks to the bloc because of  anti-money laundering and terrorism financing shortfalls.

Reuters said the information was contained in a draft document expected to be published on Thursday. It said the document is still subject to changes.

The other countries set to be added to the EU list are The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe.

It said the countries pose significant threats to the financial system of the European Union.

Under EU law, banks and other financial and tax firms are obliged to scrutinise more closely their clients who have dealings with countries on the list.

In a follow-up interview Tuesday night with Radio Jamaica News, Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke said, despite progress over the years, Jamaica has long had deficiencies in its anti-money laundering framework.

The strength of Jamaica’s Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of  Terrorism framework was assessed in 2005 and again in 2015, through mutual evaluation exercises.

Dr. Clarke said substantial deficiencies were identified in both instances, noting that “persons with ill-gotten gain have found it far too easy to use those proceeds to buy houses, working through attorneys and real estate agents, to buy cars… to buy jewelry, to hire accountants, to gamble at gambling shops, to borrow money from financial institutions…”

The Finance Minister affirmed that there is an action plan to address the deficiencies, including the “finalisation of all the businesses and professions, such as the real estate, legal, accounting, financial, the jewelry (stores), the remittance, the pawn broking, the car dealershps, and the non-profit sector…”

http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/jamaica-to-be-added-to-ec-financial-risk-list