Financial Centre Association of Vanuatu

🧐Is Vanuatu “𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍” in the eyes of the European Commission?👀 We got the hint from this presentation making the rounds through Pacific jurisdictions lately. Is it because we’re “exceptional” that we’ve been stranded for years on the EU’s money laundering blacklist even though the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) deemed our country compliant more than six years ago? Almost every other addition or removal from the FATF list has been reflected in lockstep, but not us! Which is strange because we don’t remember receiving an “autonomous assessment”🤷 How exactly does Vanuatu and its mighty $1.1b economy “threaten the EU’s financial system?”😳 We’d love to know more. Our curiosity is piqued! But as usual, we can bet nobody in Brussels will take the time to explain anything. They never do! This is all theatre for the European taxpayer. Brussels bureaucrats are pretending to deter dangerous criminals in tiny Pacific islands while their own member countries are not even subject to screening🤡 #aml #vanuatu

Last week some of our members were treated with a technical brief on AML/CTF/CPF* compliance by Mr. Razim Buksh of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Many of us are “reporting entities” to the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) and thus need to stay ahead of the curve to protect our financial system against abuse, as we prepare for Vanuatu’s next assessment by the APG/Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Among other topics, Mr. Buksh covered the following: - Key gaps in AML/CTF/CPF in particular risk based preventative measures;  - Role of reporting entities in the APG assessment process; - Preliminary remedial measures and tentative timelines. For those who got lost in the acronyms, *AML/CTF/CPF= anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and countering proliferation financing. #aml #compliance #fatf

🚨𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐤❗️Vanuatu prepares for its 2026 assessment by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. Full story➡️🔗https://lnkd.in/eyWYAwCW The private sector is committed to do its part to make sure #Vanuatu🇻🇺 remains a strong partner in the global fight against illicit financial flows and related financial crimes. #amlcft #compliance #fatf

🚨𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐄𝐔 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐄𝐔 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 “𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠” 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝⚠️ (I agree!) European Council president Charles Michel seemed to have what alcoholics call a “moment of clarity” last week when he told the Financial Times that maybe, just maybe, the tendency to tell other countries with different view, histories, interests, and traditions how to behave is deeply resented. Really, you think?😏 He said that the EU’s approach to enforcing its standards and regulations was often “humiliating”. As a citizen of a country at the receiving end of those humiliations, I can confirm🇻🇺 His revelation came as half of the world took part in the BRICS summit in Russia (the country supposedly isolated by EU sanctions). The fact that Mr. Michel is stepping down at the end of the month probably helped him find the courage to utter those words, as happens so often to politicians when they’re no longer in charge😉 Original article 🔗https://lnkd.in/eXN6ArbR

🔥#Vanuatu named among Lonely Planet’s Top 10 places to visit🚀

👀MUST READ: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 This essay from Cato Institute sets the record straight on International Finance Centres (IFCs) which are often wrongfully portrayed as havens for tax evaders and other criminals😏 CLICK HERE➡️🔗https://lnkd.in/eGRgzY4a The author notes that many small countries like #Vanuatu🇻🇺 became IFCs “because it enables their people to live happier and more productive lives at a higher standard of living than anything else that could be done in small places with tiny domestic markets, high transportation costs, and little or no natural resources.” He quotes R. W. H. du Boulay, the British Resident Commissioner of what was then known as the New Hebrides from 1973 to 1975, writing that the islands “would have been left destitute from disasters, had it not been for the building boom which followed the influx of professional people.” (pictured: Vaduz castle, the residence of the Prince of Liechstenstein, the first IFC formed in the 1920s)

⚠️“Even in there’s no terrorist activity in your piece of paradise, you have to start documenting your compliance efforts to show that you won’t let bad actors weaponize your financial system.” Last week, our members participated in an outreach session conducted by Mr. Collins and Mrs. Kelly of the U.K. Technical Assistance Unit, focusing on combating the financing of terrorism, in preparation for Vanuatu’s next assessment by the APG/Financial Action Task Force (FATF)👮🏻♂️🌏 Representatives of the private sector were educated on identifying suspicious activities, which can be very different from classic money laundering. It was highlighted that even seemingly innocuous behaviours can indicate malicious intent upon closer scrutiny. Our advisors stressed the importance of a “dynamic” approach by which we proactively investigate entities and transactions and report any suspicion to the Financial Investigation Unit. The last thing we want is to get unintentionally involved in a terrorist plot and tarnish the reputation of Vanuatu’s financial system in the process.👀 #CTF #financialregulation #compliance

🇻🇺Vanuatu faces a public revenue crisis, a lack of foreign investment, and a shortage of skills, but hope is still not lost and “there remains cause for immense optimism”, writes Peter Judge. Read on to hear his ideas➡️🔗https://lnkd.in/eVHhkH-8 Photo: “Vanuatu Sunrise” by Flickr user Simon_sees #Vanuatu #CBI #publicrevenue #FDI

👀Caribbean economist and friend of Vanuatu Marla Dukharan delivered this heartfelt speech in support of the UN Tax Convention – a unique opportunity for developing nations to fight back in what she calls the “economic warfare waged on us through double standards, false narratives, propaganda, and completely indefensible blacklists.” For context, OECD countries cause 78% of global tax loss every year according to the Tax Justice Network but when it comes to pretending to remedy the issue, they blame the smallest and most defenseless nations of the Caribbean and the Pacific. There are indeed islands among the biggest tax havens but very few are lined with palm trees🏝️ 🎬START AT 41:53 https://lnkd.in/e-XDYPPe #Vanuatu #TaxJustice #UNtaxconvention

Like clockwork, the Council of the European Union just held its bi-annual theater production🎭 where it pretends to hunt down evil tax evaders in tiny tropical islands🏝️ #Vanuatu🇻🇺 (GDP $1b) just started its 15th consecutive round on the EU Tax Blacklist along with 9 other tiny, defenceless countries in the Pacific 🇦🇸🇫🇯🇬🇺🇵🇼🇼🇸 and the Carribean 🇦🇮🇵🇦🇹🇹🇻🇮. (And also Russia, a recent addition that may be more politically than fiscally motivated.) The world is required to believe that this group of countries forms the single worst threat to the public revenue of EU members🤪 https://lnkd.in/dsnYcFXk