The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Attorney General yesterday said it is “vital” The Bahamas maintain its perfect ‘40 out of 40’ compliance on global anti-financial crime standards with just-unveiled legislative reforms dedicated to that goal.

Ryan Pinder KC, responding to Tribune Business questions, asserted that this nation’s reputation as “a stable, well-regulated and compliant financial centre must be preserved” especially given that The Bahamas will next year undergo its next evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering and anti-financial crime standard.

He spoke out after the Government unveiled a series of reforms to multiple key corporate and financial services laws, including the Companies Act, the International Business Companies (IBCs) Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Register of Beneficial Ownership Act. The changes, which have yet to be debated and passed by Parliament, are designed to ensure The Bahamas complies with revised FATF recommendations.

Mr Pinder, emphasising to this newspaper that The Bahamas has no plans or intent to create a register of trusts domiciled in this nation, said the reforms are designed to meet the new threshold imposed by the global standard-setter’s recommendations 24 and 25. His comments came as its was confirmed yesterday that The Bahamas has been removed from France’s national tax blacklist.

In particular, the Companies Act and IBC Act reforms will ban nominee directors sitting on the Boards of Bahamian corporate entities. These are directors who are acting for, and being instructed, by someone else such as one of a company’s beneficial owners, and the Bills tabled in Parliament provide a six-month transition timeframe following passage into law during which they must be replaced.

And, where a nominee is holding shares in a Bahamian corporate entity on behalf of someone else, such as the true beneficial owner, this must be disclosed in its shareholder register and memorandum. The nominee will now also be mandated by law to “complete a declaration of trust, naming the beneficiaries for whom he holds the shares”, and this must be kept at the company’s registered office.

Finally, the “identity and relevant particulars” of the person who the nominee is holding the shares for must be disclosed and provided to the Register of Beneficial Ownership. Mr Pinder said this will ensure The Bahamas’ complies with the updated FATF standards requiring nominee shareholders to register that they are acting in such a capacity and disclose the identity of who they are representing.

While nominee shareholders are already regulated under Bahamian law, Mr Pinder explained: “Amendments to the Register of Beneficial Ownership, IBC and Companies Acts are intended to address this. This disclosure will be maintained through the BOSS system currently in use to register beneficial ownership.”

As for recommendation 25, Mr Pinder said changes to the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA) and Proceeds of Crime Act will enable The Bahamas to comply with the FATF’s revised position that trustees collect and maintain beneficial ownership and records on all persons involved with, and “exercising effective control”, over trust structures.

“These revisions to the FATF guidance now impose AML and KYC (anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer) obligations on trustees to collect and maintain beneficial ownership information on settlors, beneficiaries, protectors and others exercising effective control over the trust,” the Attorney General explained.

“In practice, many trustees indicate they are already doing this. However, the mandate is not reflected in law. The amendments to the FTRA and Proceeds of Crime Act address this requirement. I must indicate, so there is no confusion, it is not the intention of The Bahamas to have a trust register.”

Speaking to the importance of The Bahamas maintaining full compliance with FATF standards, Mr Pinder said: “It is vital that we keep pace with our legislative reforms in anti-money laundering in response to changes in regulatory requirements and FATF guidance.

“This is particularly important as we begin to prepare for our fifth round of mutual evaluation of The Bahamas by the FATF, which is to occur next year. We must maintain our position as compliant in all 40 FATF recommendations. The reputation of the country as a stable, well-regulated and compliance financial centre must be preserved.” The evaluation is likely to be conducted by the FATF’s Caribbean affiliate, the CFATF.

The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2025, meanwhile, also includes reforms designed to bring The Bahamas into compliance with the FATF’s recommendations 36 and 38 which involve cross-border co-operation between different countries on evidence sharing and recovering/seizing assets that may have been derived from money laundering and other financial crimes.

In particular, under the existing Act, a Bahamian court “may not seek to enforce” a proceeds of crime judgment in another jurisdiction - a situation that is about to change. “Clause five seeks to insert the power and procedure for enforcement of Bahamian property freezing orders, and civil forfeiture orders, in foreign jurisdictions and the transfer of evidence relative to a property freezing order where there is a connection between the property and The Bahamas,” the Bill states.

“Currently, under the legislation, a court may not seek to enforce a judgement issued in The Bahamas in respect of proceeds of crime situated in a foreign jurisdiction. Clause six seeks to insert a schedule which provides a comprehensive analysis of ‘connection with a case in The Bahamas’ as a condition for a Bahamian court to enforce a property freezing order or civil forfeiture order outside of The Bahamas, or request evidence in relation to an investigation”.

Meanwhile, the Government yesterday hailed The Bahamas’ removal from France’s national tax blacklist as hinted at by the Prime Minister last week. It said the French government had published an official decree dated April 18, 2025, officially removing The Bahamas from its list of non-cooperative states and territories in tax matters (NCST).

The Government, in a statement, said the change “reflects The Bahamas’ continued efforts to meet international standards on tax cooperation and transparency. “This announcement marks another significant achievement in a series of international tax compliance wins for The Bahamas,” it added.

“It follows the country’s earlier removals from other prominent blacklists, including those issued by the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These removals affirm The Bahamas’ commitment to strong governance, fiscal co-operation and regulatory alignment with global norms.

“The country’s achievements over the last three years have led to this recognition. This progress ensures that The Bahamas’ financial services industry can better serve its French clients, offering seamless access to financial services and cross-border solutions,” the Government continued.

“The expanded ability to operate in jurisdictions like France also enhances The Bahamas’ attractiveness as an international financial centre, facilitating the continued growth and competitiveness of the sector.”

According to a note from Deloitte & Touche’s French affiliate, France decided on February 17, 2024, to maintain The Bahamas as one of five jurisdictions subject to full defensive measures - including punitive withholding taxes on payments such as interest, dividends and royalties - for the whole of that year with that decision to only be reviewed come 2025.

The French move was decided just three days before the EU, of which it is a member, resolved to delist The Bahamas from its own blacklist on February 20, 2024. While national blacklistings are less comprehensive and impactful than those imposed by multinationals, such as the EU and OECD, they nevertheless pose a reputational risk and undermine the ‘ease of doing business’ with entities and individuals from those nations by adding to the cost and time associated with financial transactions.