Financial Intelligence Unit
PRESENT AND PAST DIRECTORS
Present Director
Mr. Emrick K. Seymour Sr., CM, KPM
Director
Mr. Emrick Kevin Seymour Sr. is currently the Director of the Financial intelligence Unit of the Bahamas and commenced his tenure on 18 December 2021.
He is a Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, having completed an extensive and successful career in the Royal Bahamas Police Force. His devotion, commitment, dedication and unrelenting resolve as a Police Officer, has resulted in his various promotions steadily through the ranks of the organization to that of Deputy Commissioner of Police. This position also allowed him to act as Commissioner of Police, on thirteen (13) separate occasions. During his tenure on the Royal Bahamas Police Force, he was the recipient of the Force’s Medal for Meritorious and Long Service, and Good Conduct.
He received international regional, personal and professional training in the United States, Canada, Australia, the wider Caribbean Region and here in The Bahamas. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Executive Institute (NEI) and the Chief Executive Leadership Program (CEL) – Southern Police Institute, Springfield Maryland – in conjunction with the University of Louisville. Mr. Seymour is the holder of a Management Degree from The University of The Bahamas, and a Certified International Risk Management Designation (CIRM) – Chartered Institute of Bankers, Scotland.
As the new and latest director of the FIU, it is his intention to continue to build on the foundation laid and set by the previous directors in an effort to ensure adherence to the FIU’s mandate and objectives.
Cognizant that the challenging and extraordinary times in which we live globally have seen unprecedented activities by transnational criminals in the perpetration of their nefarious behavior through the use of modern technology, he strongly believes that such activities necessitate a keen sense of awareness; and monitoring by all financial and law enforcement agencies and stakeholders, in an effort to identify, minimize and or eliminate such occurrences where possible.
It is his intention therefore, to work assiduously in partnership with all of the local, regional, and international partners, stakeholders and activities concerned in a continuous effort to ensure the respective jurisdictions are safeguarded from all the criminal elements.
Past Directors
Mr. Quinn W. McCartney, QPM
Director
1 January 2019 – 18 December, 2021
1 January 2019 – 18 December, 2021
Mr. Quinn McCartney served as the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of The Bahamas, a position he held from 1 January 2019 to 17 December 2021.
Prior to this appointment he served as Director of Security at a leading Resort and Casino in New Providence. Mr. McCartney completed 32 years of service as a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in January 2015, when he retired at the rank of Deputy Commissioner. His service on the Police Force also included Senior Assistant Commissioner of the Grand Bahama District, Assistant Commissioner of Management Services, Commandant of the Police Training College, and Director of the Forensic Science Section, where he spent most of his career as a Forensic Scientist.
Mr. McCartney possesses a Master of Science Degree in Forensic Science from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and an Associate’s degree in Management from the College of The Bahamas (now the University of The Bahamas). He also possesses a Level 7 Executive Diploma in Strategic Management from the Chartered Management Institute, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Police Management from the University of Leicester. His training also included participation in the International Commanders Programme and the Strategic Leadership Programme, both at the International Police Academy, Bramshill, England.
Upon assumption of the position of Director, Mr. McCartney embarked upon an aggressive programme to modernise the FIU, as he was mandated to make the necessary changes to ensure that the FIU was fully compliant with Immediate Outcome 6 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. To this end he is credited with overhauling the FIU with emphasis on its information technology (IT) infrastructure, which involved the investment of over half a million dollars in the acquisition of a new IT platform, inclusive of new hardware, a new case management database, and an analytical software. The improvements also included the introduction of an e-Filing platform that allows financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, regulators, and other stakeholders, to electronically submit suspicious transaction reports (STRs), and other reports to the FIU on a seamless and secure platform.
During his tenure five new analysts, an IT specialist, and an IT technician were added to the staff as part of the Director’s ongoing vision to enhance the team of professionals at the FIU. He always advocated for better conditions and benefits for his staff.
Mr. McCartney’s goal was to raise the profile and presence of the FIU as a key player in the AML/CFT/CFP regime in The Bahamas.
Mr. Reuben Smith, QPM, RVM
Director
12 August 2013 – 31 December 2018
Mr. Reuben Smith severed as the fourth Director of FIU between the period 12 August 2013 and 31 December 2018.
Mr. Smith is a descendant from the island of Long Island, who served on the Royal Bahamas Police Force for almost 43 years, attaining the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner before his retirement in 2007.
During his tenure as a Police Officer, he had the honour of chauffeuring Her Majesty the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh during their official visit to The Bahamas in 1977. He was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) and is also the recipient of the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM), the Police Meritorious Medal and the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal.
Significant accomplishments that occurred during Mr. Smith’s tenure at the FIU include:
- FIU Bahamas Co-sponsored Jamaica’s application for membership in the Egmont Group
- The Bahamas’ 4th Round Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) was conducted in 2015
- Served as the Host FIU Director during the 38TH CFATF Plenary in Freeport, Grand Bahama
Mr. Reginald Ferguson, QPM
Director
11 January 2010 – 22 January 2013
Mr. Reginald Ferguson served as the third Director of FIU Bahamas.
He assumed this position after serving almost 43 years as member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. In November 2009 he retired as Commissioner of Police, having served a long and distinguished career, most of which was at Command levels in the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
During his tenure Mr. Ferguson continued to build on the accomplishments of his predecessor and further strengthened the FIU as a key player in the AML/CFT regime in The Bahamas. While serving as Director, the FIU, in collaboration with the Regulators, issued a Notice regarding “Fraudulent Transfer/Instructions/Internet Fraud” as a result of the increase in these issues in The Bahamas.
Mr. Anthony Johnson
Director
1 November 2005 – 31 October 2008
Mr. Johnson is a retired Bahamian professional, who had been employed in the banking and trust sector for approximately 42 years. He was associated with financial institutions, both onshore and offshore, in the public and private sectors, at senior and middle managerial levels, in various areas such as credit and marketing, operations, regulatory oversight, compliance, risk management, money laundering prevention and corporate secretarial functions.
During his career, he participated in many domestic and international conferences, seminars and training programmes directly related to his job functions.
Mr. Johnson holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Dayton and the University of Miami, respectively. Before retiring, he also held membership in a number professional, industry related organizations including the London Institute of Financial Services (IFS), The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the International Compliance Association (ICA) and The Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO).
Mr. Johnson was an active volunteer in several local, non-profit organizations, including the Drug Action Service, National Drug Council and The Bahamas Beautillion Committee. From 1996 to 2005, he served as Adjunct Lecturer locally at several tertiary level institutions in various business subjects. He is an active member of St. Agnes Anglican Church.
Significant accomplishments that occurred during Mr. Johnson’s tenure at the FIU include:
- Updated and re-issued FIU’s AML/CFT Guidelines for financial institutions in The Bahamas in March 2007
- Implemented the Electronic Document and Case Management System
- FIU’s web page officially launched and incorporated into the Ministry of Finance’s web site
- Implemented written/documented Policies and Procedures for all aspects of FIU’s operations
- Initiated a project for a National AML/CFT Strategy
- Signed numerous Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with other Foreign FIUs for the exchange of information
- Successfully sponsored several FIUs in the Caribbean for membership in the Egmont Group of FIUs
- Successfully co-sponsored, along with the U.S. FinCEN, Nigeria’s application for membership in Egmont
- FIU’s Technical Officers achieved and held active roles in two (2) Working Groups within the Egmont Group: the IT Working Group and the Out Reach Working Group
- Obtained approvals for FIU’s Analysts (Police Officers) to access data bases of select Government Departments to assist with STR analysis
- Launched programme under which FIU’s Analysts, upon request, provided ‘certificated’ AML/CFT Training, free of charge, to financial institutions
- Senior Analysts/Technical Officers approved to participate in high level, specialised training in the United States sponsored by various Federal Agencies
- Several staff members successfully completed core requirements and were awarded International Compliance Association’s (ICA) diploma in Compliance and AML
Mr. Wilton Strachan, QPM
Director
29 December 2000 – 31 December 2003
29 December 2000 – 31 December 2003
Mr. Wilton Strachan, QPM, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Retired) has the singular distinction of being the first Director of FIU Bahamas.
Mr. Strachan, from the island of Exuma, in The Bahamas, was selected to head the FIU after a distinguished career spanning 41 years of service of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. His law enforcement career afforded him the opportunity to participate in a wide array of courses in the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia, and he completed the Overseas Command Course at Bramshill Police Staff College in the United Kingdom. He also served on attachment to the Command of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary also in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Strachan served as the Officer in Charge of the First Drug Squad of the Police Force, between 1969 – 1970, and again in the 1980s when the Drug Squad was amalgamated with the Serious Crime Section. Other areas of command include Commandant of the Police College, Assistant Commissioner of Crime, and Senior Assistant Commissioner of Administration, before his appointment as Deputy Commissioner.
After the 1984 Commission on Drug Trafficking through The Bahamas, Mr. Strachan served as a member on the National Task Force Commission, and also served as a member of the National Drug Council. He has attended numerous seminars and was privileged on more than one occasion to be a delegate at the United Nation’s Assembly on Drugs and Psychotropic substances.
In June 2001 Mr. Strachan, as Director of the FIU, travelled as part of a six-member delegation, headed by the Attorney General of The Bahamas, to the Netherlands and made a strong case to the Egmont Group for The Bahamas’ removal from the European Union’s (EU) and the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) blacklist. The delegation was successful in this regard. It was at this time that The Bahamas FIU became the 54th member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, which was indeed a significant accomplishment.
Other significant accomplishments of the FIU that occurred under Mr. Strachan’s tenure include the issuance of Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Transaction Guidelines in December 2001.
Mr. Strachan completed his tenure as Director on 31 December 2003.
Past Acting Director
Mr. Edward Smith
Acting Director
1 January 2004 – 31 October 2005,
1 November 2008 – 10 January 2010
Mr. Edward Smith was one of the founding members of FIU Bahamas when it was established in 2000. At the time he was serving as an Assistant Superintendent with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, in the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), when he was selected along with four (4) other Police Officers to form the Unit. He served in the capacity of Head of Analysis.
Mr. Smith, along with Director Strachan, played an integral role in selecting the FIU’s location at Norfolk House, Fredrick Street, where it still resides. He worked closely with TvT Compliance, out of Switzerland, that was contracted to provide consultancy services to the FIU, to develop its policies and procedures. He was also a point person in discussion with representatives of the United States FIU, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to review the operations of the FIU and to sponsor the application of the FIU to become a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
During his tenure Mr. Smith severed as a member of the CFATF Team that conducted the Mutual Evaluation of Guyana in 2004.
He was also an active member of the Egmont Group. In June 2004 he was elected Vice Chairman of Egmont Group, Outreach Working Group, and he served in this capacity until February 2010. In June 2006 he was elected as Chairman of the Egmont Group Implementation Sub-Committee. This Sub-Committee managed the transition of the Egmont Group from an informal group to becoming an international entity. The work of this Sub-Committee was concluded in June 2007. He had the distinction of being elected as Co-Representative of the Americas Regional Representative for the Egmont Group and served in this position until he completed his tenure at the FIU.
There is no doubt that during Mr. Smith’s distinguished career at the FIU he was an integral part in many of the significant developments that occurred between 2000 and early 2010. This included selecting staff, upgrading technology, and encouraging staff members to obtain international certifications in AML/CFT. He also signed on behalf of the FIU, numerous memoranda of understanding (MOU) with counterpart FIUs around the world.
Mr. Smith served as Acting Director of the FIU in 2004, and was officially appointed Deputy Director in 2005, a position he held until he resigned in February 2010. He was also appointed Acting Director of the FIU from November 2008 – January 2010.
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