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LETTER OF THE DAY - Clarifying the law re money laundering
published: Tuesday | November 27, 2007
The Editor, Sir:
With this letter, I wish to both 'chastise' the established public media for not being as thorough and precise as it ought, and also to remind the public on the status of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation in Jamaica.
In recent days, there has been an increased level of coverage given to matters related to the variou investment schemes in Jamaica. Some articles and stories, letters to the editor and even some editorials in the print media have commented that the actions of some commercial banks have had a negative impact on these schemes by the filing of suspicious reports supposedly in compliance with the Money Laundering Act. I quote from an article in a newspaper of Sunday November 25, 2007: "Meanwhile, depositors say that the banks are giving Cash Plus Limited a fight by invoking the provision of the Money Laundering Act, related to suspicious transactions".
Any reference to the Money Laundering Act as of June 1, 2007 would not be properly grounded in the law as this Act and its operative regulations were since repealed. Here is a brief background that should bring us to the present.
Jamaica's first dedicated anti-money laundering legislation was the Money Laundering Act, 1996 along with its companion Money Laundering Regulations, 1997. Combined primarily with the Drug Offences (forfeiture of Proceeds) Act, and the Dangerous Drugs Act, together they represented Jamaica's AML legislative regime.
However, these Acts and Regulations have been effectively repealed and replaced by the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and, therefore, are no longer operative law. POCA was passed by Parliament in March 2007 and came into effect on May 30, 2007. POCA originated as a crime Bill, not a AML Bill per se.
POCA, and its companion Regulations, constitute a wide-ranging set of legislation that targets benefits derived from the commission of any crime, and incorporates the concept of money laundering as well as introducing, in local law, the principle of civil procedure.
In short, the Money Laundering Act and its Regulations are no longer in force and recent references to these laws in the context of current matters would not be correct.
The Proceeds of Crime Act which has but one section of several dedicated to Money Laundering, would be the proper reference when referring to the regulated entities such as banks, broker-dealers, building societies, cambios and insurance businesses filing certain types of reports to the competent authority, with regard to suspicious transactions.
POCA is not a private circular or letter. POCA is a public document, it is the law of the land. It might be a worthwhile effort for the established media to focus more attention on this piece of legislation and bring further enlightenment to the public.
I am, etc.,
C. JOHN PRYCE
christopherjmpryce@yahoo.com Waterloo Avenue, Kingston 10
published: Tuesday | November 27, 2007
The Editor, Sir:
With this letter, I wish to both 'chastise' the established public media for not being as thorough and precise as it ought, and also to remind the public on the status of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation in Jamaica.
In recent days, there has been an increased level of coverage given to matters related to the variou investment schemes in Jamaica. Some articles and stories, letters to the editor and even some editorials in the print media have commented that the actions of some commercial banks have had a negative impact on these schemes by the filing of suspicious reports supposedly in compliance with the Money Laundering Act. I quote from an article in a newspaper of Sunday November 25, 2007: "Meanwhile, depositors say that the banks are giving Cash Plus Limited a fight by invoking the provision of the Money Laundering Act, related to suspicious transactions".
Any reference to the Money Laundering Act as of June 1, 2007 would not be properly grounded in the law as this Act and its operative regulations were since repealed. Here is a brief background that should bring us to the present.
Jamaica's first dedicated anti-money laundering legislation was the Money Laundering Act, 1996 along with its companion Money Laundering Regulations, 1997. Combined primarily with the Drug Offences (forfeiture of Proceeds) Act, and the Dangerous Drugs Act, together they represented Jamaica's AML legislative regime.
However, these Acts and Regulations have been effectively repealed and replaced by the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and, therefore, are no longer operative law. POCA was passed by Parliament in March 2007 and came into effect on May 30, 2007. POCA originated as a crime Bill, not a AML Bill per se.
POCA, and its companion Regulations, constitute a wide-ranging set of legislation that targets benefits derived from the commission of any crime, and incorporates the concept of money laundering as well as introducing, in local law, the principle of civil procedure.
In short, the Money Laundering Act and its Regulations are no longer in force and recent references to these laws in the context of current matters would not be correct.
The Proceeds of Crime Act which has but one section of several dedicated to Money Laundering, would be the proper reference when referring to the regulated entities such as banks, broker-dealers, building societies, cambios and insurance businesses filing certain types of reports to the competent authority, with regard to suspicious transactions.
POCA is not a private circular or letter. POCA is a public document, it is the law of the land. It might be a worthwhile effort for the established media to focus more attention on this piece of legislation and bring further enlightenment to the public.
I am, etc.,
C. JOHN PRYCE
christopherjmpryce@yahoo.com Waterloo Avenue, Kingston 10