Though Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) McKelsonFerrol acknowledged that each year has been a milestone since the Unit’s inception, however he highlighted 2024-2025 as a special year.
Speaking at a Ministry of National Security and Legal Affairs press conference held last week, Ferrol cited the establishment of a subunit and additional staffing, and also provided insight into the activities of the Financial Intelligence Unit conducted for the period 2024-2025 to combat money laundering and other financial crimes.
“The FIU continues to function admirably. For the period, the analytical department analyzed suspicious activity reports and developed both operational and strategic [analyses] to assist other competent authorities, namely the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force, the Financial Services Unit, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and Customs, to meet their operational needs,” he stated. “The FIU staff attended several training, seminars, and conferences regionally and internationally, and participated as assessors, examiners, and trainers at some of these forums.”
He went on to add that the FIU has collaborated and coordinated with the Director of Public Prosecution, the Chambers of the Attorney General, regional and international agencies in the area of financial crime investigations, drugs, firearm and ammunition trafficking, and money laundering investigations, which resulted in the effective investigations and prosecution of several matters.
Meanwhile, he announced that Dominica will be applying for the re-rating of three recommendations at the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Trinidad and Tobago in May 2026.
“The Minister of National Security and Legal Affairs and the Honorable Attorney General facilitated the presentation of the following bills to Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament in October of 2024,” he said.
Referencing the three bills, he added that they were gazetted in November of 2025.
They are: Suppression of Financing of Terrorism Act, Money-Laundering Prevention Act, Anti-Money-Laundering and Suppression of Terrorism Finance Amendment, Code of Practice 2025.
“As a result of the amendment of the aforementioned bills, Dominica will be presenting CFATF 4th round Mutual Evaluation Third Follow-Up Report and will be applying for re-rating of three recommendations that were rated partially compliant and one recommendation that was rated non-compliant at the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force in May of 2026 in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Ferrol continued, “I trust that we will be successful in our application for rewriting at the May 2026 CFATF Plenary.”
In light of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, he noted that intervention was made by the Minister of National Security and Legal Affairs, Rayburn Blackmoore, on behalf of the Roseau District Court, the FIU, the Supreme Court, Customs Division, and the Regional Security System.
“As a result, a total disbursement of $2,042,096.42 was made from the asset for future fund,” Ferrol revealed.
The sad thing about Dominica is people and institutions that were put in place to catch thieves and protect Dominica have become a den of thieves and as a result, for the love of filthy lucer the guards have become facilitators of thievery and corruption. How sad
Let’s be brutally frank. If this institution was properly functional, Roosevelt and many of his cronies would have been dragged before the court to account for the numerous misappropriation of government funds.
Just like par-lie-a-ment, the police force, the electoral commission, and other government entities, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is a big joke of an institution.