By Gerrino J. Saunders
Bahama Journal News Editor

The government is proud of the work it has done that has resulted in The Bahamas
being removed from the European and French financial services blacklist for non
cooperative countries.
In its most recent sitting Members of Parliament debated and passed a
compendium of nine financial service related bills the government hopes will keep
The Bahamas off any future financial black lists.
Leading debate for the government Prime Minister Philip Davis the Minister of
Finance explained the ultimate purpose behind the Bills that include the Financial
Transactions Reporting Amendment Bill, Trust Amendment Bill, Bank and Trust
Companies Regulations Amendment Bill, International Business Companies
Amendment Bill, the Non-Profit Organization Bill, the Register of Beneficial
Ownership Bill, the Companies Bill, the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Bill, and
the Arbitration Amendment Bill.
He said, “the compendium of Bills reflects our sustained commitment to
strengthening our financial services sector and maintaining our status as compliant
with all 40 of the FATF’s Recommendations. These nine Bills collectively ensure
that we comply with international standards, promote transparency and
accountability, and strengthen our anti-money laundering framework.”
According to the Prime Minister key among the amendments is the Register of
Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Bill 2025, which closes critical gaps in the
country’s transparency framework.
He said, “this Bill shines a light on nominee arrangements, where someone holds
shares on behalf of someone else, bringing them under full transparency
requirements by ensuring that the person on whose behalf the nominee acts is
treated as a beneficial owner.
“This Bill also dramatically shortens reporting timelines from 15 days to just 24
hours, ensuring that when beneficial ownership changes, we know about it almost

immediately; and through this Bill, we are ensuring compliance with the FATF’s
Recommendation 24 to prevent the misuse of nominee arrangements for money
laundering.”
According to the Finance Minister another important Bill, the Financial
Transactions Reporting Amendment Bill, which strengthens how the country’s
financial institutions verify who they are doing business with. 
The Prime Minister explained that this Bill mandates regular reviews of customer
information based on risk. Reviews will occur every year for high-risk clients,
every 3 to 5 years for medium-risk clients, and every 5 to 10 years for low-risk
relationships. 
“Today, we are also debating the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Bill, which gives
our authorities the power to go after the money that supports criminal activity
across borders,” said Davis.
“This Bill expands the definition of ‘property’ to cover all types of assets, and most
significantly it introduces evidence sharing and global asset recovery processes
that enable cooperation with foreign countries to freeze and reclaim criminal
proceeds, even when those assets are hidden abroad,” he said.
The Prime Minister explained that this Bill also provides a comprehensive
definition of what constitutes a “connection with a case in The Bahamas” as a
condition for a Bahamian court to enforce a property freezing order or civil
forfeiture order outside of The Bahamas, or to request evidence in relation to an
investigation.
According to the Prime Minister the compendium of Bills are “striking the right
balance between transparency, legal representation for power holders, and, most
importantly, privacy. We value the privacy that our trust industry provides and it is
our intention to maintain that privacy. We are protecting client privacy while

maintaining our competitive edge and adhering to international compliance
standards.”
Mr. Davis said the nine Bills demonstrate The Bahamas’ unwavering commitment
to meeting international standards while maintaining strength as a financial
jurisdiction.
He said, “As we implement reforms, we do so with a clear vision: to create a
financial services sector that is modern, transparent, compliant, efficient, and
trusted by investors worldwide. To achieve this vision, we must keep our
momentum going. Let’s continue outperforming forecasts and avoiding blacklists.
“Let’s continue advocating for fairness in the application of standards and rules on
the global stage to ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules and has the
same opportunities for success. And, most importantly, let’s continue building a
sector and an economy that is ripe with opportunity for Bahamians,” said Prime
Minister Davis.
He said the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of
Terrorism (CFT)/Countering the Financing of Proliferation (CPF) framework has
never been stronger.
Additionally, he said, “We will continue to lead the way, staying atop global trends
for digital assets and registered exchanges through regular amendments to our
DARE Act and ensuring smooth implementation of the Domestic Minimum Top-
Up tax to keep us aligned with international tax standards while creating a valuable
new revenue stream from the largest and wealthiest multinational corporations.”
The Minister of Tourism Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper the former
shadow minister of finance seconded the bills and asserted that despite The
Bahamas financial services industry being unfairly targeted and black listed, the
industry continues to have a bright future.
He noted that The Bahamas has attracted approximately $12 billion in investments
over the past decade.
Members of the opposition supported the Bills but criticized the government for
taking what they see as a disjointed approach to addressing the local and
international challenges in the financial services sector.

Opposition Member for East Grand Bahama and shadow Minister of Finance
Kwasi Thompson led debate for the Official Opposition and said protecting the
financial services sector should involve bi-partisan approach.
He said, “This should be something that we all should take off our political hats
and do what is necessary together to advance this industry; but we support all nine
of the pieces of legislation.”
Thompson and the Opposition also urged the government to take steps and make
provisions to make it easier for more Bahamian involvement in the financial
services industry.
He said, “If we are serious about building a resilient Bahamian owned financial
services industry, then we must act decisively to remove outdated barriers and
create real pathways for local participation. The future of financial services in The
Bahamas must include Bahamians; not just as employees, but as owners, as
innovators and as leaders.”
The compendium of Bills would now advance to the Upper Chambers where
Senators will debate them in a crucial step towards them becoming law.