WILLEMSTAD - The Financial Intelligence Unit Curaçao (FIU) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) have joined forces to promote company registration with the FIU. This initiative is crucial to ensuring compliance with laws and regulations aimed at preventing money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation.
According to the National Ordinance on the Reporting of Unusual Transactions (LvMOT), institutions and professionals such as accountants, brokers, lawyers, tax advisors, and traders in vehicles or construction materials are required to register with the FIU. This obligation has been in place since 2015, yet not all companies have complied.
The latest phase of the non-registration project focused on brokers and vehicle dealers who had previously received a letter from the FIU instructing them to register. The FIU has filed complaints with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against companies that failed to comply.
As a result of this collaboration, five new registrations have been completed with the FIU. Additionally, several companies have de-registered from the Chamber of Commerce or changed their legal status. Companies that have not responded must appear in court in March 2025.
Combating money laundering is essential to preventing serious crimes and financial fraud. Hiding the origins of criminal proceeds allows offenders to evade investigative authorities and continue enjoying assets obtained through illicit activities. To counter these practices, financial and non-financial institutions, along with certain professionals, must register with their respective regulators—FIU, the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten, or the Curaçao Gaming Authority—and report unusual transactions to the FIU in accordance with the LvMOT law via the ‘goAML’ reporting portal.
The FIU analyzes this information and forwards transactions deemed suspicious as intelligence to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation. Reporting transactions to the FIU is essential in addressing money laundering, making it vital for institutions to continue fulfilling their obligations.
The cooperation between the FIU and the Public Prosecutor’s Office aims to ensure better compliance with the law and more effective handling of financial crimes.