Regulatory Alerts2000-07-01 | FinCEN Advisory - Issue 27Added
Transactions Involving St. Vincent and the Grenadines (FinCEN Advisory - Issue 27)
Banks and other financial institutions operating in the United States are advised to give enhanced scrutiny to all financial transactions originating in, routed to, or through St. Vincent and the Grenadines, or involving entities organized or domiciled, or persons maintaining accounts, in that jurisdiction. The advisory cites serious systemic deficiencies in St. Vincent and the Grenadines' counter-money laundering regime, including rudimentary licensing, lack of customer identity verification, and prohibitions on disclosing beneficial owner information to foreign authorities. Financial institutions subject to suspicious transaction reporting rules under 31 C.F.R. 103.18 must carefully examine transactions of $5,000 or more in U.S. dollar equivalent to determine if reporting is required. The Treasury Department considers any report relating to such transactions to constitute a report of a suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law, providing protection from liability under 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2) and (g)(3).