WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao is accelerating its efforts to strengthen its defenses against terrorism financing, sanctions violations, and proliferation risks, as the island prepares to report progress to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in February.
The findings from a recent joint training week—conducted by the island’s main financial and regulatory authorities—will be directly incorporated into the ongoing National Risk Assessment, which forms a key element of Curaçao’s required improvements.
Unprecedented Joint Training Initiative
The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) hosted a five-day training program, marking the first time the three supervisory bodies have conducted such an initiative together.
Participants included professionals from:
the financial sector,
designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs),
and the gaming industry—one of the island’s highest-risk sectors under CFATF standards.
The sessions focused on:
identifying terrorism financing risks,
understanding targeted financial sanctions,
recognizing proliferation financing red flags,
and applying international standards in risk-based analysis.
Regulators Highlight Strengthened Cooperation
The supervisory authorities described the joint effort as an “important milestone” that operationalizes the commitments laid out in their existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The merged training is designed to ensure consistent supervision across sectors and help Curaçao show measurable, documentable progress on deficiencies identified in the country’s previous Mutual Evaluation Report (MER).
Preparing for the 2026 CFATF Report
The knowledge gained during the training will now be integrated into:
upcoming supervisory activities, and
Curaçao’s National Risk Assessment, currently being updated to reflect new data and cross-agency insights.
This work is crucial as Curaçao must demonstrate significant progress when it reports to the CFATF in early 2026.
Authorities emphasize that the improvements are not only about meeting international obligations but also about protecting the integrity and resilience of Curaçao’s financial system—including banking, gaming, and emerging digital economy sectors.
As global expectations around anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and sanctions compliance continue to grow, Curaçao’s regulators say the island is taking firm steps to align with international best practices and mitigate reputational risk.