Companies Office of Jamaica Establishes Anti-Money Laundering Unit

• An Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Unit has been established within the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) to enhance regulatory compliance and transparency.
• Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, Manager for the AML Unit, Inger Hainsley-Bennett, shared that its primary focus is to leverage the new powers granted to Registrars, ensuring that the information provided by companies is accurate and verifiable.
• The Unit also ensures beneficial ownership compliance, so that beneficial ownership information is accurately reported and that the true owners and controllers of companies are disclosed.
• By implementing the AML Unit, the COJ aims to foster a culture of transparency and accountability within its organisation and among partners.
• This strategic implementation comes in response to the heightened scrutiny and monitoring efforts by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering and ensure financial integrity.
• Jamaica was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in February 2020 and was officially removed in June 2024. This removal came as a result of the country enhancing the effectiveness of its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, fulfilling the commitments in its action plan concerning the strategic deficiencies.

(Source: JIS & NCBCM Research)