Representatives of the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP), the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) recently collaborated in a regional initiative aimed at strengthening awareness and resilience against cyber-enabled fraud and other emerging financial crime threats.
The initiative formed part of the ECCB’s regional webinar, “Click. Call. Drain – Disrupting Cyber Fraud Networks through Intelligence-Led Policing,” which brought together compliance professionals, financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement agencies from across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
The webinar focused on the growing threat of cyber-enabled fraud and explored strategies to strengthen prevention, detection, reporting, and enforcement measures through enhanced collaboration, information sharing, and intelligence-led approaches.
Antigua and Barbuda was represented through contributions from officers of the ONDCP and the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, reflecting the country’s commitment to a coordinated national response to financial crime and cyber-enabled fraud.
Representing the ONDCP were Ms. Lennique Quashie and Ms. Kebra Gardner, while ASP Wilkin Cuffy represented the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, who collectively contributed to discussions on emerging fraud trends, preventative measures, and the importance of effective partnerships among financial institutions, Financial Intelligence Units, law enforcement agencies, telecommunications providers, and other stakeholders.
The ECCB subsequently expressed its appreciation for the contributions made during the webinar and underscored the importance of continued inter-agency collaboration in strengthening the region’s collective response to cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and other emerging financial crime risks.
Director of the ONDCP, Lt. Col. Edward Croft, welcomed the opportunity for regional engagement and emphasized the importance of maintaining strong partnerships among national, regional, and international stakeholders.
“Cyber-enabled fraud continues to present significant challenges to our financial systems and our citizens. Effective prevention and disruption require cooperation, information sharing, public awareness, and a coordinated response among all relevant agencies. Initiatives such as these demonstrate the value of collaboration in protecting the integrity of our financial systems and enhancing public confidence in the institutions responsible for safeguarding them.”
The ONDCP extends its appreciation to the ECCB for facilitating this important regional initiative and reaffirms its commitment to working alongside national, regional, and international partners to strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s capacity to prevent, detect, investigate, and disrupt financial crime and cyber-enabled fraud.