By Kamroy Ogilvie

Copyright jis

The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) will soon initiate a cleanup of its company register, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering framework and enhance transparency and compliance.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Registrar of Companies, Shellie Leon, provided an update during a press conference at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce in New Kingston on Tuesday (September 23).

She informed that the COJ monitors both active and inactive companies in a bid to strengthen the anti-money laundering framework.

“In very short order, we are going to be doing a massive clean-up of our registers because, [for] some dormant companies… we are finding that even though they don’t make returns, they don’t have an actual office that they operate from, some of them might have property.

“So, we are cooperating with, for example the National Land Agency (NLA), because these dormant companies, they are a gateway for fraud to be committed. So there are persons who find out that these companies are dormant, make certain changes, they take people’s property etc. So we monitor both dormant and active and we are working with other partners in that effort,” she informed.

In endorsing the initiative, Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, commended the COJ for its continued role in strengthening the country’s regulatory integrity.

“Frauds in bank… almost invariably happen in dormant accounts. When I managed banks, whether it was in Oman, here in Jamaica or elsewhere, we always insisted that the auditors must go through [the dormant accounts].

Now the auditors insist they have to go through the dormant accounts, because that’s where frauds tend to originate. So it’s very important that COJ is going down that road as well,” he said.

Minister Hill emphasised that COJ plays a central role in ensuring Jamaica’s adherence to international financial regulations.

He noted that the collaborative efforts of the COJ, alongside key Government Ministries and agencies—including the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ)—played a vital role in Jamaica’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List and, subsequently, the European Union (EU) List.

“The COJ’s contributions were essential to establishing a beneficial ownership registry; this trust is further reinforced by the foundation of our democracy. This combination of strong governance and robust regulatory compliance makes Jamaica a safe place to invest, the right place to register a company, grow a business and confidently engage with the Companies Office of Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Leon reported an increase in the registration of companies and businesses.

“We have seen an increase in the service industry, IT (information technology) services, general merchandise and construction,” she said.

Minister Hill encouraged stakeholders across diverse sectors—including the creative and entertainment industries—to formalise their operations by registering with the COJ.