Exploring legislative measures, the implementation of artificial intelligence, and the use of automated systems, the Tech Anti-Money Laundering Conference hosted by NEMLC, a consulting company, aims to propose measures to combat money laundering as a financial crime in the Caribbean.
The prevalence of money laundering as a form of financial fraud is an issue business experts say has to be mitigated, especially with the advancement of technology.
Hosting 15 participants representing several Caribbean nations, NEMLC’s Lead Consultant Nigel Matthew said the tech conference themed ‘AML Compliance Evolution’ provided measures and solutions for businesses to tackle this issue.
“Tech this time is about the compliance evolution because as you know in Trinidad and Tobago we have been trusted with reporting fraudulent activities, suspicious activities for the last twelve years. But we have emerged. So the theme of this year, Compliance Evolution, how do we evolve, what are the new vulnerabilities, what are the controls.”
He added that the implementation of tighter legislative laws is a solution proposed to prevent Caribbean countries from entering the financial fraud grey list.
“If a Caribbean country is on the grey list, that would be somewhat disastrous for the nation in terms of correspondent banking, in terms of getting assistance globally. So it cannot be a unilateral country perspective, it’s must be a Caribbean perspective.”
Establishing frameworks to tackle financial crime is a move countries have taken on globally.
Presenting on a regional approach and a proposed unit named the ‘Caribbean Bureau of Investigation,’ security expert Garvin Heerah said this would strengthen financial security in the Caribbean.
“We need to see ourselves as a Caribbean state, as a nation, identified by one people, one voice, one vision. And in so doing, when we have that synergy, when we have that buy-in, when we have that collaborative approach to security, regional security becomes more easy to be measured, to be managed, and to be monitored.”
Mr. Matthew said the advancement of technology and its utilisation for businesses has provided better ways to manage and monitor systems.
“We need to employ AI, different types of solutions to help us detect, monitor, and even escalate those issues to the regulators and at the end of the day, we hope that there should be some sort of prosecution and a successful outcome which we hope would be a conviction.”
This conference is one of the steps towards providing and reporting on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. Technology at the forefront enhances the approaches taken by businesses and Governments in mitigating this crime.