Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas says his government is determined to restore Grenada ’s image in the international financial arena. The declaration was made this morning during a courtesy call by members of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The Prime Minister said it was government’s determination to take advantage of the benefits offered by the offshore sector, once the business is legitimate. “We will give all the necessary support to correct some of the difficulties we have had in the sector in the past. We are prepared to take the necessary steps to make sure our compliance matches internationally accepted standards. This will enable us to get involved in the financial sector in a legitimate way,” he told the CATF delegation. Finance Minister Nazim Burke said the government has already taken steps to restore Grenada financial integrity including working with both the banking and non banking sectors to strengthen regulations against money laundering. “We want to tackle the problem at its root so we have been working with the financial sector to enhance the regulatory environment. We have a good relationship with the affected institutions. They have also been making suggestions for inclusion in our new approach,” Mr. Burke said. The CFATF team, lead by Mr. Roger Hernandez, is here to conduct Grenada’s Mutual Evaluation Review which will determine Grenada’s compliance with the regime for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating terrorism as mandated by the FATF. The team will be here until October 31, 2008. The last review was held in 2003. Coming out of that review Grenada was removed from the international ‘black list’. The team will be meeting with the Financial Supervisory Authority, Ministry of Finance, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and representatives of banking and non-banking sectors. Contact: Richard Simon Press Secretary 407 0013,440 2383 ext 6010. pmoffice@gov.gd