The Financial Intelligence Agency of the Turks and Caicos proudly marked a major milestone- its 10th anniversary with a commemoration and reception at The Palms Hotel, Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday 25th September 2025.

Under the inspiring theme, “Celebrating a Decade of Making a Difference.” The event drew a distinguished audience included Her Excellency the Governor, Ms. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, Premier the Hon. C. Washington Misick Dr. (h.c), MSc. MBA, PMP, MCIArb., OBE JP, current and former members of the FIA Board of Directors, members of the TCI Anti Money Laundering Committee, senior government officials, representatives from the financial services sector, and other stakeholders.

Reflecting on the Agency’s decade of service, Director of the FIA Mr. Dwayne Baker emphasized that the 10th anniversary commemoration was not only a time to honour the Agency’s humble beginnings, but also to showcase its vital role in safeguarding and protecting the integrity of the TCI’s financial services sector, and its responsibilities as a global partner in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

A highlight of the commemoration was an insightful keynote address delivered Mrs. Elisabeth Lees, Attorney at Claritas Legal and former National Coordinator to the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Group in the Cayman Islands. Mrs. Lees presented on the Topic: “Lessons Learnt from the FATF 4th Round – How Can the TCI be Prepared for the 5th Round?” Mrs. Lees stressed the importance of the Turks and Caicos Islands understanding its risk exposure to financial crimes and demonstrating effectiveness, employing methods for risk mitigation, and focusing on asset recovery through local and international cooperation.

The formal part of the ceremony closed on a high note with Director Baker being honoured by the Board of Directors for his 10 years of outstanding leadership of the Financial Intelligence Agency.

 On October 10th, 2025, the Financial Intelligence Agency of the Turks and Caicos Islands (FIA-TCI), conducted training for TCI Border Force Officers, demonstrating its commitment to educating and enhancing awareness about money laundering, trade based money laundering and other financial crimes.

The topics included several key areas:

• The Role and Functions of the FIA
• The Importance of Cash Declarations Compliance
• Trade Based Money Laundering

The Role & Functions of the FIA– encompassed the critical functions of the Financial Intelligence Agency in detecting and preventing financial crimes. The financial analysis support the FIA provides to LEAs during investigations, emphasizing the importance of inter-agency cooperation and parallel financial investigations.

Cash Declarations Compliance– The session covered the TCI’s legal landscape for monitoring and enforcing declarations for the cross-border movement of cash. The discussions highlighted the significance of compliance to avoid legal issues and promote transparency in financial transactions, common challenges faced by the Border Force Officers in cash declaration enforcement and best practices for enforcement.   

Trade-Based Money Laundering– The participants enthusiastic engagement on this topic enabled an environment for meaningful discussions on the common methods used by illicit actors in Trade-Based Money Laundering, educating the officers on how to identify suspicious activities and recognize potential red flags. The session ended with in interactive case study, effectively analysed by the participants, who delivered on their respective findings.

Based on participants feedback, the training provided several benefits, including a better understanding and knowledge of the complex topics. It fostered a greater awareness of the current issues in financial crimes. The FIA emphasised the importance of increasing agency collaboration, which would eventually boost our combined efforts to combat illegal financial activity in the TCI. (See photos below).

Mar 4th, 2024: The UK, Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) Sanctions Forum 2024 was held during the week commencing March 4th 2024 in London, UK. Graciously hosted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). The forum provided an opportunity for collaboration and education regarding the UK, OTs and CDs sanctions regimes. The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA-TCI) was represented by its Director Mr. Dwayne Baker who formed part of the TCI delegation consisting of representatives from the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Financial Services Commission, and the National Anti-Money Laundering Coordinator. The TCI continues its work to enhance and build capacity in its sanctions regime through such engagements as a responsible and committed partner in combating sanctions evasion.(See photo gallery below).

Aug 15th, 2023: On August 15th, 2023, the FIA engaged in a training session which members of the GCC. Areas explored included the role of the GCC in the wider anti money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) industry, AML concepts, suspicious activity reporting, financial intelligence and sanctions as it relates to the gaming industry. The session was very informative and interactive. The FIA thanks the GCC for extending the invitation. We look forward to participating in more sessions such as these. Presenters were: Ms. Arlene Deveaux, GCC AML Coordinator, and Mrs. Kaisha Phillips-Wharton (Ag. Deputy Director/Financial Intelligence Officer) with Financial Intelligence Analyst, Daniella Mohammed providing support (See photo gallery below).

July 3rd – 7th, 2023: The 29th Egmont Group Plenary and Working Groups meetings were held 03- 07 July 2023 at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Meetings of the various Egmont working groups and the Plenary were expertly facilitated by the Egmont Group Secretariat under the auspices of our gracious hosts the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE and the government and people of the UAE. The Financial Intelligence Agency of the Turks and Caicos Islands (FIA-TCI) was represented at the meetings by Director Mr. Dwayne Baker. One of the major themes at the Plenary was developments in artificial intelligence, and opportunities for its use as an important tool for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. (See Photo Gallery below).

December 20th 2022: The TCI has now achieved Compliant and Largely Compliant ratings on 35/40 of the FATF AML/CTF/CPF global standards following  the 55th Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Plenary held in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Click HERE to view the report which is also available on our Downloads page.

November 29^th 2022: The Financial Intelligence Agency of the Turks and Caicos Islands (FIA-TCI) at the 55^th Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Plenary held in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands signed memoranda of understanding with the Republic of Haiti, and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The MoUs are aimed at enhancing cooperation between the respective countries in the sharing of financial intelligence relating to the combating of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. These efforts are related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations on anti-money laundering (AML), Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) and Counter Proliferation Financing (CPF). The TCI recognizes the FATF standards and seeks to be fully compliant with the recommendations.

In his remarks director of the FIA Mr. Dwayne Baker stated “It is important that we develop systems for the efficient and effective sharing of intelligence that fosters greater cooperation between our countries. This initiative aligns with the TCIG’s priorities aimed at Border Protection, National Security, Crime Prevention and abatement. The FIA-TCI looks forward to enhanced cooperation with our close neighbour Haiti, our regional counterpart Guyana and further afield as we seek to detect, disrupt and assist law enforcement in the pursuit of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing crimes which have the potential to cause harm to our economy, financial stability and ultimately our people.”
ENDS