Kingston, Jamaica – GrahamThompson Partner Ryan Pinder was a key presenter at the 8th Annual Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism Conference in Jamaica this past October 8 – 10.
Ryan, who is also President of the Bahamas Institute of Financial Services (BIFS), presented to the conference on “Terrorist Financing and Sanctions: The Regional Experience – Focus on Non Profit Organisations (NPOs)”.
The paper provides a clear distinction between money laundering and terrorist financing, and reviews the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards for NPOs, as it relates to the risks of terrorist abuse in non-profit organisations. In his discussion of NPOs and the FATF’s approach, Ryan underscores that while recognising the importance of prosecutions, “the regulatory framework should also focus on detecting and disrupting abuse”. Notably, he highlights and details five categories of abuse or risk related to terrorist financing:
- Diversion of Funds
- Affiliation with a Terrorist Entity
- Abuse of Programming
- Support for Recruitment
- False Representation and Sham NPOs
Ryan’s presentation takes a detailed look at issues, additionally covering international standards for penalties and sanctions; and reviews the responses of regional governments, including The Bahamas.
A complete copy of Ryan’s presentation can be downloaded here, “Terrorist Financing and Sanctions: The Regional Experience – Focus on Non Profit Organisations (NPOs)”.
The Conference was jointly hosted by the Jamaican Bankers Association (JBA) and the Jamaican Institute of Financial Services (JIFS). Ryan also presented to the conference on Data Protection and Privacy.