Anti Money Laundering (AML) in the Netherlands Antilles

Money laundering in the Netherlands Antilles is a significant problem due to narcotics trafficking and a lack of border control. Consequently, the government has taken steps to strengthen its Anti Money Laundering (AML) regime.

In 1993, the Netherlands Antilles developed legislation to establish money laundering as a crime. In more recent years, the government has expanded suspicious activity reporting requirements and modified existing money laundering legislation that penalizes currency and securities transactions. The 2002 National Ordinance on the Supervision of Fiduciary Business, for example, institutes a Supervisory Board that oversees the international financial sector. The government requires members of this sector to adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.

On October 18, 2002, the government published new indicators for the reporting of unusual transactions with regard to terrorist financing. The new indicators require that unusual transactions reported to the police or judicial authorities in connection with money laundering or the financing of terrorism must also be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Netherlands Antilles Reporting Center, Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties (MOT NA). This requirement also extends to unusual transactions relating to credit cards, money transfers and game of chance transactions.

The Economy of the Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles maintains a small economy, based on tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance. Positive developments in the private and public sectors, led by the construction, wholesale and retail, and financial services sectors, have contributed to growth in the Netherlands Antilles. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region.

The Netherlands Antilles imports most of its oil from refineries in Venezuela and its consumer and capital goods from the USA, Italy and Mexico. Agriculture has suffered due to poor soil and inadequate water supplies and budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population. The Netherlands provides financial support to the economy.

Banking in the Netherlands Antilles

Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen is the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles. Established in 1828, the Central Bank maintains the external stability of the Netherlands Antillean Guilder (NAf.) and promotes the efficient functioning of the financial system in the Netherlands Antilles. The Bank is one of the government’s main advisors on financial and economic affairs.

The Central Bank is the only institution entitled by law to issue paper money in the Netherlands Antilles and is charged with the circulation of coins. The Bank also supervises banking and credit institutions, manages the foreign exchange reserves of the Netherlands Antilles, and acts as the government’s treasurer by receiving and making payments from and to the public through the tax collector’s accounts at the Central Bank.

Currency in the Netherlands Antilles

The Antillean Guilder (NAf) is the official currency of the Netherlands Antilles. Also known as the Florin or Gulden (NAG), the guilder is subdivided into 100 cents. Banknote denominations are 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 250. Coin denominations are 5, 2.5, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.1, 0.05, and 0.01 cents.

All major currencies are accepted in the Netherlands Antilles, although change is given in Guilders.

Other Key Statistics of the Netherlands Antilles

Time Zone: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time).

Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Saint Maarten, Saba, and Saint Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands.

Population: 225,369 (July 2008 est.).

Labor Force: Approximately 79% works in the services industry, 20% in industry and 1% in agriculture. The unemployment rate is approximately 17%.

Languages Spoken: Papiamento, (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English (widely spoken), Dutch (official), Spanish, Creole, and other dialects.