Counter-Proliferation Financing Act, 2025

BILL AN ACT to provide for implementation of the recommenda￾tions of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with respect to measures to counter proliferation financing, to make consequential amendments to the Economic Sanctions Act and for related matters [Assented to 22nd October, 2025] ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as the Counter-Proliferation Financing Act, 2025. Enactment Short title First Session Thirteenth Parliament Republic of Trinidad and Tobago REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Act No. 8 of 2025 [L.S.] Legal Supplement Part A to the “Trinidad and Tobago Gazette”, Vol. 64, No. 158, 23rd October, 2025

2. In this Act– “business relationship” means a business, professional or commercial relationship between a relevant person and a customer, which is expected by the relevant person, at the time when contact is established, to have an element of duration; “document” means information that is recorded in any form; “financial institution” has the meaning assigned to it under section 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act; “financial services” means the provision of services related to investment, lending, and management of property, money and assets and includes the granting of export credits and guarantees; “FIUTT” means the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago established under section 3 of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act; “listed business” means a business or profession listed in the First Schedule to the Proceeds of Crime Act; “listed entity” means an individual or entity in respect of whom a freezing order, relative to proliferation financing, has been made under the Economic Sanctions Act; “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for finance is assigned; “proliferation financing” means the provision of funds or financial services used in whole or in part for the manufacture, acquisition, possession, development, export, trans￾shipment, brokering, transport, transfer, stockpiling or use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery and related materials; Interpretation Chap. 81:05 Chap. 11:27 Chap. 72:01 26 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

“proliferation financing risk” means the potential breach, non-implementation or evasion of targeted financial sanctions in relation to proliferation financing, imposed under the Economic Sanctions Act or any other written law; “property” or “funds” means assets of any kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal, tangible or intangible, moveable or immovable, however acquired and legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital, evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets, including but not limited to bank credits, payment cards, payment instruments, travellers cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, virtual assets, bonds, drafts, letters of credit whether situated in Trinidad and Tobago or elsewhere, and includes a legal or equitable interest, whether full or partial, in any such property, precious metals, oil and other natural resources and their refined products, modular refineries and related material and other economic resources which may be used to obtain funds, goods or services; “Supervisory Authority” means, in respect of– (a) financial institutions licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, the Insurance Act, the Exchange Control Act, the Home Mortgage Bank established under the Home Mortgage Bank Act, the Agricultural Development Bank established under the Agricultural Development Bank Act, the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company, the Central Bank; Chap: 79:09 Chap: 84:01 Chap. 79:08 Chap. 79:07 Chap. 79:50 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 27

(b) a person registered under section 51(1) of the Securities Act, the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission; or (c) other financial institutions registered as non-regulated financial institutions under the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act and listed businesses, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago; “targeted financial sanctions” means both asset freezing and prohibitions to prevent property or other assets from being made available, directly or indirectly for the benefit of listed entities and persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of listed entities in relation to proliferation financing, imposed under the Economic Sanctions Act or any other written law. 3. (1) As soon as a financial institution or listed business is notified of the list of listed entities, the financial institution or listed business shall immediately inform the FIUTT on the approved form– (a) whether any listed entity has property with the financial institution or listed business; (b) whether there is a transaction being conducted involving property owned or controlled, wholly or jointly, whether directly or indirectly by a listed entity; or (c) whether any persons or entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of a listed entity, has property with the financial institution or listed business. Chap. 83:02 Certain procedures apply 28 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

(2) Where a listed entity or a person or entity acting on behalf of or at the direction of a listed entity, attempts to enter into a transaction or continue a business relationship with the financial institution or listed business, the financial institution or listed business shall immediately submit a suspicious activity report to the FIUTT and shall not enter into a transaction or continue a business transaction or business relationship with such a person or entity. (3) If the financial institution or listed business has reasonable grounds to believe that the listed entity has funds in Trinidad and Tobago, it shall immediately inform the FIUTT. 4. (1) Every financial institution or listed business shall keep and retain records in accordance with the Regulations made under section 13. (2) Where a financial institution or listed business knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that property within the financial institution or listed business belongs to, or is derived or generated from property owned or controlled, directly or indirectly by– (a) a listed entity; or (b) a person or entity who is acting on behalf of or at the direction of a listed entity, the financial institution or listed business shall report the existence of such property to the FIUTT by filing a suspicious activity report. (3) Every financial institution or listed business shall– (a) pay special attention to and report all– (i) business transactions with individuals, corporate persons and financial institutions in or from other countries which do not Record keeping and retention duties No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 29

comply with, or who comply insufficiently with the recommen￾dations of the Financial Action Task Force; and (ii) complex, unusual, or large trans￾actions, whether completed or not, unusual patterns of transac￾tions and significant but periodic transactions which have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose, to the FIUTT; (b) examine the background and purpose of all transactions which have no economic or visible legal purpose under paragraph (a)(ii) and make available to the FIUTT, written findings after its examinations, where necessary; (c) keep and retain records relating to financial activities in accordance with the Regulations made under section 13; (d) develop and implement a written compliance programme, reasonably designed to ensure compliance with this Act; and (e) monitor compliance with the Regulations made under section 13. (4) Where a financial institution or listed business makes a suspicious transaction or suspicious activity report to the FIUTT under this Act or any other written law by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented, the Director or staff of the FIUTT or of such financial institution or listed business shall not disclose the fact or content of such report to any person. 30 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

(5) Any person who contravenes subsection (4) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five million dollars and to imprisonment for five years. 5. (1) A suspicious activity or transaction report made to the FIUTT pursuant to this Act or any other written law by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented, shall be made immediately upon the financial institution or listed business having reasonable grounds to suspect that the property is property which has been frozen pursuant to this Act or any other written law by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented. (2) Where the report referred to in this section is made in good faith, the financial institution or listed business and their employees, staff, directors, owners or other representatives as authorised by law, are exempt from criminal, civil or administrative liability, as the case may be, for complying with this section or for breach of any restriction on disclosure of information imposed by contract or by any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, regardless of the result of the communication. 6. A Supervisory Authority shall monitor a financial institution or listed business for which it is a Supervisory Authority and shall take the necessary measures, on a risk sensitive basis, to ensure compliance with this Act and any other written laws by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter prolifera￾tion financing are implemented. Report of suspicious activity or transaction to be made immediately Requirement for Supervisory Authority to monitor No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 31

7. A Supervisory Authority shall disseminate the findings of any national, sectoral or thematic assessment of proliferation financing risks to a financial institution or listed business for which it is the Supervisory Authority.
8. (1) The relevant Supervisory Authority or a person authorised by the relevant Supervisory Authority may enter into premises of any financial institution or listed business during working hours in order to– (a) inspect any business transaction record or client information record kept by the financial institution or listed business pursuant to this Act and the Regulations made thereunder and any other written laws by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter-proliferation financing are implemented and ask any questions relevant to such record and to make any notes or take any copies of the whole or any part of any such record; (b) determine whether the policies and programmes required to ensure compliance with this Act and any other written laws by which the recommenda￾tions of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented or have been implemented; and (c) to determine whether there is compliance with this Act and the Regulations made thereunder and any other written laws by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented. (2) Where the Supervisory Authority is the FIUTT, the FIUTT shall obtain the consent of the owner or the occupier of the premises for the entry. Supervisory Authority may enter premises Supervisory Authority to disseminate information 32 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

(3) Where an entity supervised by the FIUTT refuses to give consent under subsection (2), a police officer above the rank of sergeant may apply for a warrant to enter the premises accompanied by an officer of the FIUTT. 9. (1) A financial institution or listed business shall develop and implement policies and programmes which are reasonably designed on a risk sensitive basis to manage and mitigate proliferation financing risks to ensure compliance with this Act and any other written laws by which the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in relation to measures to counter proliferation financing are implemented. (2) The policies and programmes mentioned in subsection (1) shall be approved by the senior manage￾ment of that financial institution or listed business. (3) For the purposes of this section, “senior management” in relation to a financial institution or listed business means the body responsible for directing or overseeing the performance of the financial institution or listed business. 10. A Supervisory Authority shall regard and deal with all information and documents which it has obtained in the course of its duties as the Supervisory Authority, as secret and confidential. 11. Where a director, officer, employee or a person acting under the direction of a Supervisory Authority communicates or attempts to communicate the information or documents referred to in section 10 or anything contained in such document or copies to any person– (a) other than a person to whom it is authorised to communicate it; or (b) otherwise than for the purposes of this Act or any other written law, Compliance programme Confidentiality Breach of confidentiality No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 33

he commits an offence and is liable on summary convic￾tion to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and to imprisonment for three years. 12. (1) A person who knowingly contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of section 5 or 9 commits an offence and is liable– (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two million dollars and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding five million dollars and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years. (2) Regulations made under section 13 may, notwithstanding section 63 of the Interpretation Act, provide that a contravention of a regulation is subject to a penalty– (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two million dollars and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding five million dollars and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a contraven￾tion of a regulation which attracts a summary penalty under subsection (2)(a), as provided for under the Regulations, may be liable to an administrative fine not exceeding one million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the manner provided for under subsections (4) to (15). Offences and penalties 34 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

(4) Notwithstanding any other action available to a Supervisory Authority under this Act or any other written law, a Supervisory Authority, where it has reasonable cause to believe that a financial institution, or listed business which is supervised by it, has contravened or is contravening a provision of Regulations made under this Act, may offer the financial institution, or listed business the opportunity to discharge the liability for the contravention by issuing a Notice, in the manner set out in subsection (5), requiring the financial institution, or listed business to– (a) comply with the relevant provision of the Regulations to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Authority; and (b) pay the applicable administrative fine in the Regulations, within such period as is specified in the Notice. (5) A Notice under subsection (4), shall specify– (a) that the Supervisory Authority has reason to believe that the financial institution or listed business, has contravened or is contravening a provi￾sion of Regulations made under this Act; (b) the particulars of the contravention; (c) that the financial institution, or listed business referred to in paragraph (a) may discharge any liability to conviction in respect of that contravention by– (i) discontinuing or remedying the contravention to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Authority within the time specified by the Supervisory Authority; and No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 35

(ii) paying the prescribed adminis￾trative fine within twenty-one business days from the day after which the Notice was served; (d) that a failure to– (i) discontinue or remedy the contravention to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Authority, within the time specified by the Supervisory Authority; and (ii) pay the fine within twenty-one business days from the day after which the Notice was served, may result in the matter being referred to the Commissioner of Police; (e) the amount of the administrative fine that is to be paid and the place where, or the manner in which, the administra￾tive fine may be paid; and (f) that the payment of the administrative fine will not be accepted after the expiration of twenty-one business days, and is without prejudice to any proceedings for the offence to which the Notice applies. (6) In any proceedings for an offence to which this section applies, no reference shall be made to the giving of any Notice under this section or to the payment or non-payment of an administrative fine thereunder, unless in the course of the proceedings or in some document which is before the Court in connection with the proceedings, reference has been made by, or on behalf of the accused to the giving of such a Notice, or, as the case may be, to such payment. 36 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

(7) The Minister may on the advice of the Supervisory Authority, by Order, vary the period for paying the fine as stated in respect of sub￾section (5)(c)(ii) and (5)(f). (8) A Supervisory Authority shall, prior to the issue of a Notice under subsection (4), forward a Notification of Intention to Issue a Notice which– (a) informs the financial institution or listed business of its intention to issue a Notice that it has contravened or is contravening a provision of Regulations made under this Act; (b) advises of the circumstances that gave rise to the administrative penalty and the amount of the administrative fine; (c) offers the financial institution or listed business an opportunity to present any relevant information that may be pertinent to the decision on whether to issue the Notice under subsection (4); and (d) states that the financial institution or listed business has ten business days to respond to the Notification of Intention. (9) Where a Supervisory Authority has issued a Notice under subsection (4), the financial institution, or listed business shall have twenty-one business days, commencing from the day after which the Notice was served, to pay the administrative fine and discontinue or remedy the contravention to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Authority. (10) A Supervisory Authority may extend the time to discontinue or remedy the contravention for a further period not exceeding twenty-one business days. No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 37

(11) Payment of an administrative fine set out in the Regulations shall be made to the Comptroller of Accounts. (12) Where an administrative fine is required to be paid, the payment may be made electronically. (13) Notwithstanding subsection (4), a financial institution or listed business to whom a Notice has been issued, may within fifteen business days of the receipt of the Notice, appeal to the High Court, from the decision to issue the Notice. (14) The procedure for determining an appeal filed under subsection (13), shall be in accordance with the Civil Proceedings Rules of the Supreme Court of Judicature. (15) Notwithstanding the fact that an appeal may have been filed under subsection (13),– (a) the Notice shall be binding upon the appellant; and (b) the appellant is required to comply with the Regulations made under this Act and any instruction of the Supervisory Authority, unless, on an inter partes application made to the High Court, the High Court is satisfied that circum￾stances exist that warrant a stay of the particular instruction contained in the Notice and grants an injunction to the appellant for a stay of the Notice before the determination of the appeal on such terms and conditions as the High Court may direct. (16) For the purposes of this section, “business day” means Monday to Friday, except a public holiday. (17) Notwithstanding anything in any other law to the contrary, any complaint relating to an offence under Regulations made under section 13 which is triable by a 38 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025

District Court in Trinidad and Tobago, may be so tried if it is laid at any time within seven years after the commission of the offence or within eighteen months after the relevant date. (18) In this section, “relevant date” means the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Supervisory Authority to justify the institution of summary proceedings, comes to its knowledge. (19) For the purposes of subsection (18), a certifi￾cate as to the date on which the evidence referred to in subsection (18) came to the knowledge of the Supervisory Authority shall be conclusive evidence of that fact. (20) Where a company commits an offence under this Act, any officer, director or agent of the company who directed, authorised, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to, and commits the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence. 13. The Minister to whom responsibility for finance is assigned may make Regulations, subject to negative resolution, prescribing the– (a) type of records to be kept by a financial institution or listed business and the type of information to be included in these records; (b) procedure to be followed in implementing section 9; (c) periods for which and the methods by which the records referred to in paragraph (a) may be retained; (d) measures which a financial institution or listed business shall implement to– (i) ascertain the identity of persons with whom they are dealing; and Regulations No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 39

(ii) treat with circumstances in which sufficient identification data is not made available by an applicant or business; (e) manner in which the Supervisory Authority for– (i) financial institutions which are not licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, the Insurance Act, the Exchange Control Act or registered under the Securities Act; and (ii) listed businesses, may be selected for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act; (f) the measures that may be taken by a Supervisory Authority to secure compliance with this Act or to prevent the commission of an unsafe or unsound practice, including– (i) administrative sanctions, which may include administrative fines; and (ii) disciplinary actions when possible; (g) generally, for the purpose of giving effect to this Act. 14. The Economic Sanctions Act is amended– (a) in section 3, by inserting after the definition of “foreign State”, the following definition: “ “listed entity” means an individual or entity in respect of whom a freezing order, relative to prolifera￾tion financing, has made under this Act;”; 40 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 Consequential amendments Chap. 81:05

(b) in section 4, by inserting after the subsection (6), the following subsection: “(6A) An order made under this section may contain procedures for the freezing and seizing of assets of listed entities.”; and (c) by inserting after section 4, the following section: 4A. (1) Where Trinidad and Tobago is a member of a regional or international organisation and has agreed as a member of such organisation to implement economic sanctions against another State, the Attorney General shall be responsible for– (a) maintaining a list of entities to be known as “listed entities” to which this Act or any subsidiary legislation made under this Act applies; (b) maintaining contact with the United Nations at frequent intervals to ensure that the list of listed entities remains current; (c) circulating the list referred to in para￾graph (a) immediately, to financial institu￾tions and listed businesses; “Attorney General to maintain list of listed persons or entities No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 41

(d) maintaining a con￾solidated list of all orders issued by a Court, in respect of freezing and seizing of assets against listed entities to which this Act or any subsidiary legislation made under this Act applies; and (e) circulating consoli￾dated list of entities referred to in para￾graph (d) to financial institutions and listed businesses. (2) The Attorney General may where new information is obtained in respect of listed entities, amend any order made under this Act to that effect.”. Passed in the House of Representatives this 19th day of September, 2025. Clerk of the House Passed in the Senate this 26th day of September, 2025. Clerk of the Senate 42 No. 8 Counter-Proliferation Financing 2025 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CARONI REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO–2025