-by Nakasia Logan
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack is advocating stronger regional cooperation and more robust legal frameworks to improve the recovery of criminal assets.
Addressing the 9th Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of the Caribbean, the DPP warned that transnational crime can no longer be effectively tackled by countries acting in isolation.
The DPP who also serves as the 2026 President of Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB) says the success of asset recovery efforts depends on high-quality investigations, and timely access to evidence through inter-agency collaboration.
She stressed that crime is no longer confined by geographical borders, making cooperation among law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and judicial authorities essential.
“Prosecutions are important to this fight, but it’s based on the quality of investigations, it will be dependent on the investigators understanding of the law pertaining to the offences being committed and their access to the relevant evidence. Interagency cooperation expedites investigations our laws must make provisions for this,” she said.
Deputy Executive Director of the Regional Security System (RSS), Atlee Rodney, also underscored the importance of regional collaboration, revealing that the RSS has already trained more than 200 criminal justice practitioners to strengthen joint investigations and financial crime probes across the Caribbean.
“Ultimately our work extends beyond criminal assets, it’s about restoring public confidence, strengthening governance, protecting or community and ensuring that the proceeds of crime are redirected to the benefits of our citizens rather than criminal organisation,” Rodney said.
He said the RSS is also developing structured training programmes aimed at professionalizing financial investigators throughout the region.
The two-day ARIN-CARIB meeting brings together prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officials and asset recovery specialists from across the region to strengthen cross-border cooperation in combating organised crime and recovering illicit assets.