Money Laundering in Castro's Cuba

Capitol Hill Cubans

Yesterday, India's SEBI -- their equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission -- cautioned markets about money laundering and terror-funding risks in ten countries:
North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey.

This action follows a global notice released on June 24th by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- an inter-government body whose purpose is to combat money laundering and terrorist financing -- identifying these countries as high-risk jurisdictions.

As regards Cuba, the FATF has concluded:
Cuba has not committed to the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) international standards, nor has it constructively engaged with the FATF. The FATF has identified Cuba as having strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that pose a risk to the international financial system. The FATF urges Cuba to develop an AML/CFT regime in line with international standards, and is ready to work with the Cuban authorities to this end.