World Bank and EU conduct workshop on virtual assets in Saint Lucia

Juliana Alfred, Chair of the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee (NAMLOC), welcomed a team from the World Bank and the European Union who conducted a workshop on virtual assets for stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Saint Lucia’s Virtual Assets Providers Act, passed in 2022, provides for the licensing and supervision of the sector.

Despite the absence of registered Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASP) within the country, the recently completed National Risk Assessment rated the threat and vulnerability of the sector as medium-high, and medium respectively due to reported active participants in the international virtual assets market.

“Considering the recent revisions made by the FATF, in terms of recommendation 15, new technologies, and the growing presence of this sector in our region the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders is very important in implementing measures that deter misuse of the sector for illicit purposes.”

The training aimed to enhance awareness of international standards and best practices relating to the virtual assets sector. Matei Dohotaru is the Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank.  

“We’re talking about cryptocurrencies which are, kind of a very hot topic. So, of course, it’s going up and down with time due to different scandals and issues but we hope we will see a stabilization of this industry and at the same time, we see international organizations and standard-setting bodies putting in place minimum standards which national authorities should be implementing. This is our aim and our goal to make sure that Saint Lucia is getting access to the best services. It's gaining advantages of digitization and transformation of financial services at the same time it is not putting citizens at risk and legal entities by assuming excessive risk.”

Nathalie Dusauzay, Executive Director of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the governing body tasked with licensing Virtual Asset Service Providers in Saint Lucia, underscored the significance of this workshop. 

“We are now getting assistance where we can bring both the private and public sectors together and start networking and to ensure that we have the necessary tools needed for the supervision/monitoring of that sector.”

Virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, introduce additional complexities such as credit and ethics risks, liquidity risks, consumer protection concerns, and the heightened risk of money laundering, presenting a formidable challenge for supervisory authorities. Workshop attendees, Andrea St. Rose and Ron Leon, reflected on key insights from the workshop. 

Andrea St Rose, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern Caribbean and Secretary of the Saint Lucia Bar Association.  

“One of the things that was touched on this morning was the issue of fit and proper persons. When we deal with money laundering we want to make sure that the persons in governance positions are well equipped to deliver on their governance commitments to the institutions.”  

 Ron Leon, Ag Senior Manager, Corporate Services, Republic Bank EC Ltd.

“The session here today is actually helping persons in the private sector to understand the distinct risks with a virtual asset service provider and how exactly you can manage it. So, this is extremely important in allowing us to develop our financial sector to a place where we as a people can benefit not only in the traditional manner but in new inventive ways.”

This training initiative, funded by the European Union, is poised to serve as a model for replication in other OECS and CARIFORUM jurisdictions. Its primary aim is to foster a harmonized level of knowledge and expertise among Virtual Asset Service Providers throughout the region.