 |
[Feedback] |
|
Financial Services Sector Steps Up Another Notch
|
Financial Services Sector Steps Up Another Notch
|
|
Monday,
July 02, 2001
–
Saint Lucia has attained another milestone in its quest to make its financial
services sector competitive and compliant with internationally accepted
standards. The island has joined a
list of 40 other countries to receive Qualified Intermediary (QI) status from
the United States Inland Revenue Service (IRS). Reacting
to that announcement Monday, Minister responsible for the International
Financial Services Sector, Honourable Phillip J. Pierre said the newly acquired
status means that the island’s financial services systems are adequate to
facilitate business with the IRS. “Saint
Lucia received that status basically by filing an application with the IRS in
the United States and that application had to outline in detail Saint Lucia’s
Know Your Customer’s Rules, Saint Lucia’s status as regards Money
Laundering, Saint Lucia’s status as regards (the) proceeds of crime.
Basically what it is saying is that the systems in Saint Lucia are
adequate for the IRS and they can accept information from partnerships,
companies and individuals that are trading in the financial services sector,”
Mr. Pierre said. Meanwhile
Minister Pierre has disclosed that Saint Lucia was not included on a recent
black list of non-cooperative countries and territories as far as money
laundering is concerned. According
to Mr. Pierre, this means that the island’s money laundering and prevention
systems have been approved by the OECD countries. All efforts, he assured, are being undertaken to guarantee
that the island remains a clean jurisdiction.
“Saint
Lucia has just been given a clean bill of health by the Financial Action Task
Force and some of our other CARICOM territories were not as lucky, but as I have
said before that doesn’t mean that we are out of the woods, because these
foreign institutions are always changing. But
basically what they are saying is that our systems have been scrutinised and we
have all the systems in place to avoid financial crime and money laundering,”
Minister Pierre ended. |
|
© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved. Read our privacy guidelines. |
