Forum held to address establishment of joint investigation teams

Caribbean Attorneys General, prosecutors and security officials are meeting in Barbados this week as regional and international agencies push to develop a legal framework for joint investigations into financial crime and asset recovery across the Caribbean.

The two-day legal forum, being held at the Hilton Barbados Resort, forms part of a wider initiative led by the Regional Security System (RSS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and GovRisk International aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation in tackling organised crime.

Attorneys general, regional security officials and international stakeholders gathered at the Hilton Barbados Resort on Monday for the opening of a legal forum focused on developing a Caribbean framework for Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) aimed at strengthening cross-border financial crime and asset recovery investigations. (Photo Credit: Shanna Moore/Barbados TODAY)

It brings together representatives from across the Caribbean as well as regional and international organisations involved in anti-money laundering, financial crime investigations and justice reform. 

The discussions are centred around the creation of Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), which are coordinated groups of investigators, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from different jurisdictions working together on linked criminal investigations.

Executive Director of GovRisk International, Dominic Le Moignan said the forum was intended to move the conversation beyond theory and into practical implementation.

“This is not a ceremonial event. It is not intended to be an abstract policy conversation,” he said.

“It’s a working legal forum with one practical focus; to help the Caribbean move closer to a workable, regionally owned model agreement for joint investigation teams.”

Le Moignan acknowledged that establishing such systems across multiple Caribbean jurisdictions would not be simple, particularly given differences in legal systems, evidential rules and operational structures.

He added, “Crime works across borders, but there are significant challenges for our systems to work as freely.”

The initiative has already included regional consultations, legal analysis and training exercises involving law enforcement and legal officials from several Caribbean territories.

According to Le Moignan, more than 100 participants from across the region took part in virtual training earlier this year, while targeted in-person sessions were also held in Jamaica involving officials from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.

A follow-up training exercise involving Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Martin is expected to take place next week.

Le Moignan said the project is now moving into a more critical phase focused on developing an actual model legal agreement that countries can adopt or adapt.

“We’re asking you to help craft and shape it, to test the ideas, challenge assumptions, identify risks early, and help define what a workable Caribbean model should look like,” he told delegates.

The proposed framework is expected to address issues including evidence sharing, operational coordination, asset recovery, leadership structures and legal compatibility between participating states.

RSS Executive Director Rear Admiral Errington Shurland, who opened the forum, said Joint Investigation Teams could help improve coordination and information-sharing between jurisdictions dealing with connected criminal networks.

Barbados’ Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams, delivering feature remarks, said the initiative comes at a critical time for the region as organised criminal activity increasingly crosses national borders.

“This initiative over the next two days resonates strongly with us as it captures two key principles for us; enhancing regional collaboration and coordination, and this particularly so among law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Abrahams noted that Barbados is currently establishing an asset recovery unit focused on stripping profits from criminal activity.

“Crime, at the end of the day, is a business,” he said. “Criminals are businessmen in the business of crime.”

Chief of Operations at the IDB’s Barbados office Francesco De Simone said the bank viewed financial investigations and asset recovery as key tools in the fight against organised crime.

“Financial crime, corruption, money laundering, and illicit asset flows can undermine economic resilience, public trust, and citizen security in our countries,” he said.

De Simone added that the region’s limited resources make collaboration increasingly necessary.“The resources are scarce. We understand that the demands are coming from different sides, and because of that, we think the joint investigative teams really have the opportunity and the potential to bring scale and hopefully reduce the burden on individual countries,” he said.

(SM)