Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda's Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Royal Police Force joined counterparts from across the Eastern Caribbean in a regional initiative targeting cyber-enabled fraud and emerging financial crime threats, according to Antigua News Room.
The collaborative effort centred on the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's (ECCB) regional webinar titled "Click. Call. Drain – Disrupting Cyber Fraud Networks through Intelligence-Led Policing," which convened compliance professionals, financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement agencies from across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
The webinar examined the growing threat of cyber-enabled fraud and explored strategies to bolster prevention, detection, reporting, and enforcement through enhanced collaboration, information sharing, and intelligence-led approaches.
Antigua and Barbuda's delegation included ONDCP officers Ms. Lennique Quashie and Ms. Kebra Gardner, along with ASP Wilkin Cuffy of the Royal Police Force. The representatives 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 key stakeholders.
Following the webinar, the ECCB expressed appreciation for the contributions made by participating delegations and underscored the need for continued inter-agency collaboration to strengthen the region's collective response to cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and other emerging financial crime risks.
ONDCP Director Lt. Col. Edward Croft welcomed the regional engagement, stressing the value of sustained partnerships at the national, regional, and international levels.
"Cyber-enabled fraud continues to present significant challenges to our financial systems and our citizens," Lt. Col. Croft said. "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 extended its appreciation to the ECCB for facilitating the initiative and reaffirmed its commitment to working with national, regional, and international partners to strengthen Antigua and Barbuda's capacity to prevent, detect, investigate, and disrupt financial crime and cyber-enabled fraud.
