Barbados

Section 5 (amending s. 170 of the Companies Act) requires the registered office to hold an up-to-date record of the basic and beneficial ownership information of the company, retained for at least five years. Section 3 (new s. 15A(6)) requires a director or authorised officer to certify in the annual return that shareholder and beneficial ownership information is kept at the registered office.

Section 15(1)(a) requires reasonable measures to establish the true identity of a customer, and s. 15(4) requires identification of the beneficial owner where the customer is not an individual. Section 16 requires ongoing due diligence and s. 17 governs enhanced, simplified or reduced procedures.

Section 19(1)(a) requires a financial institution to develop and implement internal policies, procedures and controls to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Section 20(1)(a) requires it to identify the person to whom employees report suspicious information, and s. 21 covers staff training. The Act does not use the term 'compliance officer'. The FSC AML/CFT/CPF Guidelines (revised October 2021), s. 8.0, say financial institutions must designate a suitably qualified Compliance Officer, and s. 5.0 requires appropriate seniority and independence.

Section 18(2)(a) requires transaction records to be kept for at least 5 years after the business arrangement or occasional transaction ends, and the Authority may direct a longer period. Section 18(2)(b) requires identity evidence to be kept as long as the related records, or otherwise for at least 5 years from the date it was made. Failure to keep records carries a fine of $100,000 on indictment (s. 18(4)).

Section 23(1) requires a financial institution to report to the Director of the FIU where it has reasonable grounds to suspect proceeds of crime, terrorist financing or a suspicious or unusual transaction; failure to report carries a fine of $100,000 on indictment (s. 23(2)). The Act sets no filing deadline, and s. 30(4) requires compliance with the Director's instructions within the time the Director specifies, or a reasonable time. The FSC AML/CFT/CPF Guideline (s. 7.2) and the FIU guidance note of December 2021 both require reporting 'promptly' and fix no number of days.

Section 10(B)(1) says financial institutions should inform the Commission within four hours after an incident is classified, and an incident should be classified within the first 24 hours of its detection. The guideline applies to all financial institutions the FSC regulates (insurers, securities market participants, pension plans, credit unions).