Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories
In June 22, 2001, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering issued its twelfth annual report in which it updated its list of non-cooperative countries and territories. The FATF annual report is entitled "Review to Identify Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories: Increasing the Worldwide Effectiveness of Anti-Money Laundering Measures". You may view a copy of the report on the OECD website at www.oecd.org/fatf.
The 2001 report removes the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein and Panama from the list in recognition of their progress in implementing international anti-money laundering standards, and adds Egypt, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nigeria. The current list is:
| Cook Islands Dominica Egypt Guatemala Hungary Indonesia |
Israel Lebanon Marshall Islands Myanmar Nauru Nigeria |
Niue Philippines Russia St. Kitts and Nevis St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
The FATF recommends that financial institutions give special attention to business relations and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, from the non-cooperative countries and territories listed above.
We ask you to take into account the 2001 FATF report and to ensure that you make the sales and operational personnel in your organization or any subsidiary or branches of your organization aware of the countries and territories that the FATF has identified as non-cooperative.
The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act 2000 provides a framework for requiring the reporting of suspicious transactions. We expect that the federal government will implement reporting requirements in the near future based on guidelines published for comment on February 17, 2001 by the Financial Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre of Canada. Under the draft guidelines, one basis for suspicion is that the transaction originates in a country "known or suspected to facilitate money laundering activities", like a country on the FATF list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. In view of the impending implementation of this reporting requirement, we urge you to increase your scrutiny of accounts and transactions from countries on the FATF list.
Sincerely,
"Donald G. Murray"
Donald G. Murray
Chairman
Manitoba Securities Commission