In a formal ceremony held Wednesday at Barbados’ State House, 33 senior government and financial sector officials received the Caribbean nation’s third-highest civilian honor, capping years of coordinated work to lift the country off two critical international financial watchlists that had threatened its global economic standing. The awardees came from two core working groups: the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan Implementation Team and the International Business Unit Economic Substance Team. Their collective effort culminated in two landmark delistings that have reshaped Barbados’ reputation as a global financial hub: the island was removed from the FATF’s monitoring-focused grey list in 2024, which triggered an automatic removal from the United Kingdom’s high-risk third country register, and formally taken off the European Union’s blacklist of high-risk non-EU jurisdictions on August 5, 2025. Barbadis President Jeffery Bostic used the ceremony to recognize the years of behind-the-scenes work and sacrifice that made the delistings possible, emphasizing the significance of the honor being conferred. The award granted to the officials is the third-highest distinction in the Order of Barbados, ranking only below the Freedom of Barbados and the Order of the Republic. “I want to offer my sincerest congratulations to you on what I consider to be a very significant achievement,” Bostic told the gathered honourees. “That is something to be very proud of. We all are very proud of what we’ve been able to do and to achieve.” Bostic also extended formal gratitude on behalf of the entire nation for the team’s consistent commitment to public service, noting that their relentless dedication delivered long-term benefits to Barbados’ economy. Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw echoed the president’s praise, highlighting the grueling long hours and meticulous policy changes the teams implemented to meet international regulatory standards. “The country owes you a debt of gratitude for the dedication, the commitment, and I’m sure the long hours of unbroken service and sacrifice that you’ve made,” Bradshaw said. She added that the successful delistings have already delivered tangible economic results, restoring investor confidence and strengthening growth prospects for Barbados’ key international business sector. “It has allowed us to be able to have investors certainly turning their attention back to Barbados,” she noted. Industry and policy observers have widely framed these dual delistings as a transformative milestone for Barbados, which has long positioned itself as a leading offshore international business and financial center. Inclusion on global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing watchlists like the FATF grey list and EU blacklist carries significant economic risks: it can undermine international investor trust, raise transaction costs for cross-border business, damage the overall credibility of a country’s financial regulatory framework, and deter foreign direct investment. Wednesday’s honors ceremony marks a formal national recognition of the critical role these public servants played in protecting Barbados’ economic future and securing its position in the global financial system.
Officials get third-highest honours for getting Barbados off financial lists
