The Tribune

A Bahamian regulatory and compliance professional will join a panel discussion at Jamaica’s ninth annual anti-money laundering/counter terror financing virtual conference set for this week.

Cheryl Bazard will be speaking for the fourth time at the conference, which is this year being held under the theme Manoevering the Matrix: Playing the Right CARDS (Collaboration, Adaptability, Risk Management, Discipline and Security). The conference, from November 1213, is being hosted by The Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA) in collaboration with the Jamaica Institute of Financial Services (JIFS).

Mrs Bazard, an attorney, will on Friday present on the topic Data protection and privacy impact on anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer regulations.

She specialises in corporate governance, and has experience in banking, law and gaming. She holds certificates from the International Compliance Association (ICA) and formerly served on its international advisory board.

“Mrs Bazard will bring a wide perspective to the topic based on her knowledge and experience in the area of compliance - both as a practitioner as well as an attorney-at-law,” said JIFS executive director, Darlene Jones.

“As we embrace the new digital era, it is important for financial institutions and other organisations to understand how to properly manoevere this landscape filled with opportunities and unseen risks.”

Mrs Bazard added: “The ever-increasing compliance obligations imposed both nationally and internationally appear at times to be the antithesis of privacy. With the introduction of competing responsibilities under the European Union’s GDPR, this creates a minefield for compliance experts and places them squarely in the forefront of making some very difficult decisions on behalf of their respective organizations."

She is the founding and immediate past president of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO), formed in 1999.

“I am once again grateful and honoured to join the JBA and JIFS family in their annual endeavour, and look forward to sharing with their usual engaged and interactive audience,” said Mrs Bazard, whose speaking engagement follows closely behind her presentation to the ICA Bermuda branch’s annual general meeting (AGM) on the topic, Register of beneficial owners – necessary evil or just plain evil.

Conference delegates will include Jamaica’s compliance practitioners from the deposit taking and non-deposit taking sectors; attorneys; front-line staff; internal and external auditors from the local and regional financial sectors; real estate practitioners; gaming industry personnel; accountants; and regulators.