WILLEMSTAD – The Parliament has recently approved the Landsverordening Toezicht Virtuele Activa Dienstverleners, officially establishing supervision over virtual activities such as cryptocurrency. This law is of great importance in the framework of the Mutual Evaluation (MEVAL).
As is already known, in June 2024, the on-site evaluation of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) took place. During this evaluation, CFATF conducted an in-depth investigation into both Curaçao’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws and their practical implementation.
The last on-site evaluation by CFATF in Curaçao occurred in 2011/2012, revealing that several essential laws needed to be implemented to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. However, previous governments failed to prioritize these laws or consider the severe consequences this could have for Curaçao. This oversight put the country’s financial sector at risk, making it vulnerable to being placed on CFATF’s gray list in future evaluations.
When the Pisas II Cabinet took office, it prioritized these legal frameworks—not only to comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations but also to protect Curaçao’s financial sector from illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
As part of this initiative, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) provided a list of essential laws crucial for the MEVAL process, many of which had been stalled for years. This list contained 16 ordinances and national decrees, along with six treaties that required urgent attention. Of these, the Pisas II Cabinet has successfully passed 14 laws and all six treaties, leaving only two remaining laws for approval. One of these laws is set to be presented to Parliament shortly, following a review by the Advisory Council.
Although significant progress has been made, and the urgent legislative backlog has been drastically reduced, the work is not yet complete. In the near future, CBCS will provide another list of necessary laws to be incorporated into the legislative process to further strengthen Curaçao’s financial sector.
The Minister of Finance has committed to this process and will continue working towards passing as many laws as possible to ensure a secure and regulated financial sector—one that leaves no room for illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. A strong, well-regulated financial sector will also boost investor confidence and foster economic growth in Curaçao.
