| Kent Clare Sent Home, New Director of FIU Named |
| Fri, February 24, 2023 |
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Kent Clare was named Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit in 2016 - but today was his last on the job. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Chris Coye confirmed that Clare's employment with the FIU ends today. Coye says his contract ended some months ago and has not been renewed.
And why? Well, it seems the office needs some new energy because a major and consequential assessment is underway.
Coye told us in a WhatsApp statement, quote, "the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation Anti Money Laundering Peer Review is upcoming later this year and it is imperative that we do all that it takes to be given favourable consideration...it was determined that a change is now warranted, a new direction is needed with new energetic leadership in place. Leni Ysaguirre McGann, Deputy Director of FIU, will now serve as Acting Director of the FIU." End quote.
We note that Ysaguirre McGann has been an attorney with the FIU for almost 10 years and has a range of experience.
But for the general public that very technical peer review is in the background, what's in the foreground is the phishing scam which has seen money mysteriously siphoned away from private bank accounts through online portals. Clare's team made significant progress on that investigation and some funds were even recovered from fraudsters, but he won't be around to discuss the final outcome.
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