Removal from FATF grey list will greatly benefit Jamaica - economist

 

"Jamaica stands to benefit greatly", says Economist Keenan Falconer following news that the country has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

 

This list comprises countries that are assessed as having deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism regimes.

 

In an interview with Radio Jamaica News, Mr. Falconer said this could help to boost international investment in the local economy. 

 

"Our international reputation also gets quite a boon. We have easier access to the global banking system and the financial system because our participation and functioning in that system would have been threatened. At the micro level, I know many persons will be very happy because it means, for example, your favourite online retailers are now less hesitant to do business with Jamaica."

 

"Even at the wider level, many of the resources that have been committed and devoted to fighting this as a financial crime, because it is essentially a financial crime, can now be diverted to other more economically and socially productive uses," he noted.