FSRC – Nevis Branch Newsletter – Fourth Quarter 2023

Year in Review 2023.

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FSRC – Nevis Branch Newsletter – Third Quarter 2023

Human Trafficking and Smuggling (Part 2)

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FSRC – Nevis Branch Newsletter – Second Quarter 2023

Human Trafficking and Smuggling (Part 1)

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FSRC – Nevis Branch Newsletter – First Quarter 2023

The FSRC-Nevis Branch supervises International Banks for the purposes of anti-money laundering, countering financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).

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Fourth Quarter Newsletter 2022 Year in Review

In conjunction with the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), the FSRC – Nevis Branch hosted the Targeted Financial Sanctions and Proliferation Financing Workshop on November 22 and 23, 2022.

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Third Quarter Newsletter 2022 Sectoral Risk Assessment on Legal Persons & Arrangements

The FSRC – Nevis Branch conducted a risk assessment of all legal persons and arrangements
registered in Nevis in accordance with the requirements of Immediate Outcome 5 of the FATF
Methodology for Assessing Technical Compliance with the FATF Recommendations and
Effectiveness of AML/CFT Systems.

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Second Quarter Newsletter 2022- AML /CFT Challenges, Trends & Threats

Each regulated entity has an implicit responsibility to prevent money laundering and terrorist/proliferation financing attempts at their businesses. In response, global regulatory bodies have emerged with more stringent anti-money laundering compliance requirements to identify and eliminate the risk…

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First Quarter 2022 Newsletter- The Nevis Trust and Corporate Service Providers (TCSPs) Updated Sectoral Risk Summary(Part 2)

The FSRC – Nevis Branch is pleased to report that the total revenue generated by the Nevis financial services sector in 2021 was $20,439,346.65. This represents an unprecedented increase of 75% over 2020’s revenue of $11,666,513.64.

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First Quarter 2022 Newsletter- The Nevis Trust and Corporate Service Providers (TCSPs) Updated Sectoral Risk Summary(Part 1)

During 2021, a total of 1,839 new entities were incorporated/ registered in 2021. The Table below outlines the differences between incorporations for the years 2021 and 2020. Overall, there has been a 23% increase in the total number of incorporations/ registrations for 2021 when compared to incorporations…

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Fourth Quarter 2021 Newsletter – 2021 Year In Review

The Nevis Trust and Corporate Service Providers Ordinance 2021 was passed in the Nevis Island Assembly on March 23, 2021 and was brought into force on May 01, 2021. The Ordinance deals with the licensing, monitoring and supervision of registered agents on matters relating to, among others, the i) the…

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Third Quarter Newsletter – Enterprise-wide Risk Assessment

An organisation is only as good as its weakest link or most ineffective processes. Risk avoidance is not risk management. Risk is a choice, it can be managed with foresight or damaged with hindsight. An Enterprise-wide Risk Assessment (EWRA) is a structured and disciplined approach that aligns governance,…

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Second Quarter 2021 Newsletter – AML/CFT Onsite Examinations (Areas of Improvement) Part II

In this edition, The FSRC-Nevis Branch will provide another update on the Areas of Improvement from the examinations conducted during the period January 2019 to December 2020. During that period, examinations that required face-to-face meetings were suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions. Alternatively,…

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First Quarter 2021 Newsletter – Legislative Updates (Part II)

Amendments to the Financial Services (Implementation of Industry Standards) Regulations; Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations & AntiTerrorism (Prevention of Terrorist Financing) Regulations

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Fourth Quarter 2020 Newsletter – An Introduction to the Corporate Registry Integrated Search System (CRISS)

The Nevis Island Administration and the FSRC – Nevis Branch also referred to as the Nevis Financial Services (Regulation and Supervision) Department) (“NFSD”) have taken the initiative to improve the quality and effectiveness of the Companies’ Registry.

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Third Quarter 2020 Newsletter – Tax Evasion and Tax Fraud – Red Flags

Tax evasion and tax fraud are growing concerns for financial markets all over the world. In 2012, the FATF revised its recommendations to include Tax Crimes (related to direct taxes and indirect taxes) in the list of predicate offences to money laundering.

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Second Quarter 2020 Newsletter – AML/CFT On-Site Examinations (Areas of Improvement)

The FSRC-Nevis Branch has been conducting on-site examinations to assess the extent to which regulated entities are operating in accordance with their obligations under the
relevant AML/CFT legislation e.g. the AntiMoney Laundering Regulations, 2011 (“AMLR”), the Anti-Terrorism (Prevention of Terrorism…

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March 2020 Newsletter – Coronavirus(Covid-19) and its impact on AML/CFT programmes

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has provided a fertile ground for criminal activities and has led to a rise in COVID-19 related crimes, including fraud, cybercrime, and the misdirection or exploitation of funds.

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February 2020 Newsletter – Information on the CFATF Mutual Evaluation & The National Risk Assessment

The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) conducts mutual
evaluations of its members on an ongoing basis. As part of the mutual
evaluation process, a team of experts from other members will conduct an
onsite visit to St. Kitts and Nevis from March 23 – April 03, 2020.

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January 2020 Newsletter – Legislative Updates

During the past year and a half, a number of amendments were made to legislation governing
regulated entities.

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December 2019 Newsletter – The Year In Review

Staffing changes, compliance matters, training, seminars, meetings, statistics

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November 2019 Newsletter – Targeted Financial Sanctions Related To Terrorism and Terrorist Financing – FATF Recommendation 6

Any person who has possession, custody or control of property that belongs to a terrorist or a designated terrorist group owned or controlled by a terrorist; or has information about a transaction or proposed transaction in respect of the property, shall immediately inform the Chief of Police, FIU or…

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October 2019 Newsletter – Targeted Financial Sanctions Related To Terrorism and Terrorist Financing – FATF Recommendation 6

Recommendation 6 requires each country to implement the targeted financial sanctions regimes to comply with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs or resolutions) relating to the prevention and suppression of terrorism and terrorist financing.

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September 2019 Newsletter – Financial Information Month October 2019

Financial Information Month (FIM) is celebrated in October and is a regional financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial education campaign executed in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) since 2002, through the collaborative efforts of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), ECCU member…

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August 2019 Newsletter – The Mutual Evaluation

A mutual evaluation is an assessment of a country’s level of implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations. This is a peer review, where members from different countries assess another country.

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July 2019 Newsletter- Identifying Suspicious Transactions/Activities

In Issue # 79, we learnt that suspicious transactions are activities for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are related to a criminal activity or the commission of a money laundering (ML) or terrorist financing (TF) offence.

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June 2019 Newsletter- Keys in Preparing an Effective Suspicious Transaction Report (STR)

What is a Suspicious Transaction/Activity?
Suspicious transactions/activities are transactions/activities for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are related to criminal activity or the commission of a money laundering (ML) or terrorist financing (TF) offence.

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May 2019 Newsletter- Non-Profit Organizations

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has adopted a functional definition to non-profit organizations (NPOs) given the variety of legal forms that NPOs can have, depending on the country.

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April 2019 Newsletter-BEPS and its Impact on the Financial Services Industry

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is referred to as “tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic…

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March 2019 Newsletter – Recap of 2019 AML/CFT Conference

The Financial Services Regulatory Commission (‘FSRC’), Nevis Branch held its 14th Annual AML/CFT Conference on Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis. The Conference was held under the theme, “Conquering the Compliance Divide: Effective vs. Defective – Bridging…

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February 2019 Newsletter – Annual AML/CFT Conference

The Nevis Financial Services (Regulation and Supervision) Department will host its 14th Annual AML/CFT Conference on Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis. This year the Conference will be held under the theme, “Conquering the Compliance Divide: Effective vs….

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January 2019 Newsletter – Regulation of Virtual Assets

Amendment to FATF Recommendations to address the Regulation of Virtual Assets.

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December 2018 Newsletter – The Year In Review

Staffing changes, compliance matters, training, seminars, meetings, statistics

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November 2018 Newsletter – Trade-Based money laundering

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) defines Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) as “the process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimise their illicit origin.” Due to the increasing trend towards globalisation, international…

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October 2018 Newsletter – Financial Information Month

Financial Information Month (FIM) is a regional financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial education campaign executed in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) since 2002, through the collaborative efforts of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), ECCU member governments, financial…

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September 2018 Newsletter – Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC)

Bribery and Corruption have long been perceived as major obstacles to socio-economic and international economic relations. The scale of the problem of bribery and corruption is significant at both the corporate and governmental level.

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August 2018 Newsletter – Correspondent Banking

Correspondent banking is the provision of banking services by one bank (the “correspondent bank”) to another bank (the “respondent bank”). Large international banks typically act as correspondents for thousands of other banks around the world.

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July 2018 Newsletter – National Risk Assessment

A National Risk Assessment (NRA) is a comprehensive assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks (ML/TF) in a country. An NRA report highlights good governance practices in establishing NRAs and how the results are used to inform public policy and makes concrete recommendations where…

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June 2018 Newsletter – Common Reporting Standard

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the global standard for the automatic exchange of financial information for tax purposes.

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May 2018 Newsletter – FATF Guidance on Virtual Currencies

In recent times, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, have developed into a payment method with ever growing global acceptance. They offer an innovative, cheap and flexible method of payment.

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April 2018 Newsletter – Ongoing Monitoring

Ongoing Monitoring is a vital part of the AML/CFT Compliance Program, and is one of the areas that is assessed during an onsite examination. Examiners seek to ensure that regulated entities have adequate procedures in place for effective ongoing monitoring at periodic intervals. This Month’s Newsletter…

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March 2018 Newsletter – 2018 AML/CFT Awareness Seminar & Training Workshop

The Nevis Financial Services (Regulation and Supervision) Department will be hosting its 13th annual Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) Awareness Seminar and Training Workshop on Monday, May 14 and
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis. This year the…

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February 2018 Newsletter – Know Your Employee

The headlines today are filled with many instances of how employees have caused reputational and financial damage to businesses because of bad publicity. How can this be prevented? The reality is, that although total prevention is impossible, regulated entities can minimize their risks by implementing…

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January 2018 Newsletter – Legalisation by Apostille

A large number of countries all over the world have joined a treaty that greatly simplifies the authentication of public documents to be used abroad. This treaty is called the Convention de La Haye du 5 Octobre 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents

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November 2017 Newsletter – Global forum & CFATF Update

The 10th Plenary Meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum Plenary) took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon on November 15th to 17th , 2017. The Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec) also hosted a meeting of small states that are also International…

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October 2017 Newsletter – Record-Keeping Procedures

Record Keeping is the capture and retention of documents received during the business relationship or a one-off transaction.

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September 2017 Newsletter – Other Notable Changes- Part II

The NBCO 2017 and NLLCO 2017 speak to the change of registered office of an entity. The registered office of an entity is the registered office of its registered agent. The new ordinances provide a process for change of registered office.

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August 2017 Newsletter – Other Notable Changes- Part I

We continue with our review of the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 2017 (NBCO 2017) and the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 2017 (NLLCO 2017). The August and September editions of the newsletter will highlight some other notable changes under both Ordinances.

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July 2017 Newsletter – The Revised Ordinances

The Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 2017 (NBCO 2017) and Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 2017 (NLLCO 2017) were passed in the Nevis Island Assembly on the 20th day of July, 2017 and we are currently awaiting publication in the gazette.

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June 2017 Newsletter – Guidelines for Independent Internal AML/CFT Audit

One of the areas assessed by the FSRC – Nevis Branch during an onsite inspection is whether or not a regulated entity has performed an independent internal audit (“audit”) to test and validate activities to mitigate against money laundering/financing of terrorism risks. This is done to determine…

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May 2017 Newsletter – Fitness & Propriety

The information herein is provided to assist regulated entities in applying the fit and proper test to relevant persons. A relevant person is defined in the AMLR as a person carrying on relevant business. Relevant business is defined as engaging by way of business in one or more of the businesses…

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