Story Created: Feb 25, 2011 at 11:43 PM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 25, 2011 at 11:43 PM ECT

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Money_laundering__financing_terrorism__destructive_for_all_-116963403.html

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday the scourge of money-laundering and the financing of terrorism had ushered in pernicious and destructive consequences for all countries around the world.

She noted that this can have a significant impact on crime and security, particularly for the small, developing countries of the Caribbean Basin region, a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the 22nd Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism—Relationships with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Grenada.

Persad-Bissessar, who is lead Prime Minister for the Crime and Security portfolio of the Caricom Heads of Government, recommended the issues be taken very seriously, and pointed out that she felt compelled to highlight the issues regarding CFATF, an institution which undertakes very important work related to security and development of countries.

She endorsed the axiom that there was no development without security and vice versa.

The CFATF is the first of eight FATF-styled regional bodies, which are part of a global network of approximately 180 countries across the globe that have come together for the common purpose of fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.