TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Attorney General Grenville Williams on Wednesday (March 27) emphasized the importance of international cooperation and education in combatting fraud.

Williams was in Taiwan from March 25-27 for the 2024 Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) International Workshop on Combating Transnational Fraud.

Williams told Taiwan News that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines should engage more with other nations and increase information and intelligence exchanges. 

“We need to build networks that share information in a very fluid and rapid way among law enforcement agencies so that we’re all on the same page,” he said.

This would facilitate global assistance in making arrests and disrupting criminals, he added.

Step ahead of criminals

Williams said his country had to ensure its law enforcement knew what new technologies could do and how to counter them to stop criminals in their tracks. He also said it was important to “embed and integrate” technology in everyday operations to help identify unusual or suspicious financial transactions.

The attorney general said: “Technologies such as AI may allow us to process certain info in a much more rapid and quick fashion. This could allow us to get ahead of criminals.”

Criminals are quick to adapt to change, Williams said. “If there is any tool that is going to give them an advantage, they are going to utilize it.”

Williams said his approach to fighting fraud within Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was through education and awareness. This applied to all law enforcement agencies and personnel working in law, he said, because they needed to understand the context of money laundering and how it should be investigated and prosecuted.

National strategy

Financial institutions should also know what systems they must have in place, such as a Know Your Customer policy, as well as be able to identify unusual or suspicious transactions and the appropriate follow-up procedures. 

Education and awareness guarantees “all of the players involved in the financial system they know what they’re supposed to do, they know the channels that they must utilize to share information where appropriate,” he added.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also adhered to the Financial Action Task Force’s 40 recommendations on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, he said.

With regard to crime prevention cooperation with Taiwan, Williams said the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was “designed primarily to facilitate the exchange of information and intelligence.”

“If we are going to be effective in combating criminality, including transnational fraud, it means that policymakers, law enforcement in particular needs to be able to exchange information in more or less real-time fashion,” he said. 

Taiwan friendship 

Mutual legal assistance with Taiwan helps in the exchange of information and enables the two countries to “operate on a common or standard platform,” he said.

Williams praised the close ties between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Taiwan and hoped they would continue. The two countries put people first, he said, which is why there is such a strong bond.

He said his nation’s decision to open its first embassy in Asia in Taipei was a demonstration of its desire to “continue to be very close friends with Taiwan.” Additionally, when Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was given a non-permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council in 2020, it was an opportunity for it to speak up for Taiwan.

Williams said his nation was in solidarity with Taiwan and vice versa. “We are friends of all, but we are special friends of Taiwan,” he said.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1981. The CGTF workshop on transnational fraud saw 270 civil specialists, experts, officials, and private sector representatives hailing from 24 countries sharing experiences.