The Anti-Money Laundering Committee (“AMLC”) in collaboration with Mr. Andrew Mitchell, KC hosted a Counter-Terrorism Financing Training on 23rd February, 2024, at Beaches Turks & Caicos.

 This training was hosted by the AMLC’s Counter-Terrorism/Proliferation Financing Focus Group in keeping with its mandate “to improve the understanding among law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and other competent authorities (CAs) of the risk of Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (FT/PF), the need to conduct risk assessments and to implement relevant risk mitigation measures based on identified risks;” and “to coordinate CFT/CPF related training for LEAs, CAs and registrants/licensees of the above sectors.” 

Opening remarks were delivered by the Honourable Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, OBE, KC, and Chair of the AMLC. The three Presenters for the Training included Mr. Andrew Mitchell KC, Ms. Khalila Astwood, Deputy Attorney General and Mrs. Shayone Handfield-Gardiner-Principal Crown Counsel-International and included topics such as:

• Introduction to Counter-Terrorism Financing;
• The Law in the TCI concerning Counter-Terrorism Financing, and
• Circumvention of Terrorist Financing Sanctions.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the participants were tasked with working together to execute a practical exercise which tested participants’ application of the training objectives. In response to a threat scenario, participants developed an appropriate investigative strategy inclusive of domestic coordination, international cooperation and the use of the Prevention of terrorism Ordinance and other LEA powers to convert of intelligence to evidence.

Forty-five participants attended the training, including personnel from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Integrity Commission, Ministry of Immigration and Border Services, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Attorney General’s Chambers, National Security Secretariat, Gaming Commission, Financial Services Commission, and the National AML/CFT Coordinator for the Anti-Money Laundering Committee Secretariat.

This collaborative effort demonstrates the active steps taken by the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to provide capacity building to the relevant LEAs and Supervisors for the Financial Sector to enhance their systems to ensure that the TCI continues to take efforts to secure the global financial system from terrorist financing risks.