FATF removes Bahamas from 'increased monitoring' list

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the regulatory body established by the G7 to combat money laundering, has removed the Bahamas from its list of 'increased monitoring' jurisdictions.

The Paris-based FATF announced over the weekend it has now de-listed the Bahamas from its global list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring. The move means the Bahamas is no longer subject to the FATF's heightened levels of monitoring.

Following the announcement the Bahamas said it will continue to work with FATF and its Caribbean sister organisation, CFATF, to further improve its anti-money laundering (AML) regime.

FATF congratulated the Bahamas for the "significant progress" it has made in improving its AML/CFT regime.

In a statement the organisation said, "the Bahamas has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT system and addressed related technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in its action plan and remedy the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF in October 2018."

Earlier this year the Bahamas was officially removed from the European Union's watch list after being deemed fully compliant with the bloc's tax standards. Following the EU's decision, the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) said: "The decision acknowledges that the Bahamas has implemented all the necessary reform to address concerns regarding economic substance, removal of preferential exemptions and automatic exchange of tax information."