The Bahamas' newly-regulated web shop industry will have little difficulty meeting international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) requirements, a prominent accountant said yesterday.
Accountant and financial services commentator Philip Galanis told Guardian Business that several of the country's web shops are making good progress in hiring compliance officers ahead of the industry's projected full regulation in spring 2015.
"I don't think there is going to be any difficulty with the web shops being able to satisfy the AML requirements. They will have in place procedures and policies for compliance and client acceptance to ensure that they meet requirements. Just as banks vet applicants for opening accounts, [web shops] will be doing similar exercises," said Galanis.
He said he is aware of former compliance officers and other personnel from the banking sector applying for chief financial officer and compliance officer positions at web shops as local financial institutions continue to cut staff.
"I don't see any issues there at all. The regulations require web shops to have people involved in compliance and some of the very people who work in compliance departments at banks that are letting people go will be suitably qualified to fill those positions," he said.
The government embarked upon its first national AML/CTF risk assessment in October, which is assessing the country's vulnerability to money laundering activity through a host of industries, including the web shop sector. Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson has previously stated that the 2014 Gaming Bill is a necessary step in avoiding an international blacklisting over AML/CTF concerns.

Projected revenue
The government has suggested that the country's web shop industry generates $700 million on an annual basis. However, Galanis expressed some doubt with this estimate, claiming that there is a substantial difference between the revenue that web shops generate and what they ultimately earn.
Galanis suggested that regulating the industry could translate into annual government revenue of approximately $25 million.
"We don't know that the number is $700 million. I think that there has been a lot of preliminary speculation as to the amount of money that the web shops are actually generating.
"The government intends to generate about $30 million for the activities prior to regulation, and I think we're looking at another $20-25 million on an annual basis," he said.
Obie Wilchcombe, the minister responsible for gaming, stated earlier this month that the government had collected $5 million in web shop tax arrears as of December 1.

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