The Bahamas will have the human capital necessary to comply with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) gaming and Internet gaming-specific anti-money laundering measures, according to Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder.
Following the announcement of The Nassau Conference 2014, Pinder dismissed concerns over the country's ability to properly comply with international anti-money laundering measures, stating that the Ministry of Financial Services' human capital team is in close negotiations with the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO) to formulate compliance training and certification programs.
The Association of International Banks and Trust Companies in The Bahamas (AIBT) recently announced The Nassau Conference 2014, a gathering of trust, estate and financial services professionals that will focus on the growing need for transparency in the financial services sector. Pinder added that this year's conference aims to attract members from other fields, including the legal community, due to the number of transparency initiatives facing the financial services sector, such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The British Colonial Hilton hotel will host the conference on October 22.
"We're moving forward on that and it shouldn't be a problem. We have the very best compliance professionals in the entire world working here in The Bahamas, so to be able to adjust their professional experience to look at gaming rather than just financial services should not be a problem.
"We're working [with BACO] to identify certificate courses that would be international recognized and accredited with respect to compliance and gaming. I think we've found a few models that will work well, but we don't want this to be a one-day program," stated Pinder.
While no dates have been announced for the certification programs, Pinder claimed that the ministry and BACO will select a training model in the near future.
Pinder suggested that the increased demand for certified compliance officials would provide significant employment opportunities within the financial services sector following the passage of the Gaming Bill, which raised concerns over the country's compliance capacity,
"Ultimately, the compliance aspects boil down to anti-money laundering, regardless of industry, and that is how the Financial Action Task Force writes its recommendations.
"They have a particular section for gaming and a particular reference to Internet gaming, so we're very comfortable that through the guidance that has been issued by the Financial Action Task Force and by identifying internationally accredited certificate programs in compliance in gaming, we can just expand the capacity of our compliance officers here in The Bahamas," said Pinder.

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