Monday May 29, 2023
The Vatican announced on Saturday that its financial crimes watchdog had signed cooperation deals with Britain, France and four other nations - Malta, Poland, Romania and Peru. A statement said that under the agreements, the Financial Intelligence Authority agreed to "exchange of financial information to fight money laundering and combat terrorist financing".
Similar deals are already in place with nine other countries, including Italy, Germany and the United States. Last year, the AIF was admitted into the Egmont Group, a worldwide association of financial regulators. In recent years, the Vatican has acted on international pressure to clean up its act in financial matters.
Its bank, the Institute for Religious Works, had for decades been accused of being a money laundering hub for criminals and tax evaders. Earlier in the week, Pope Francis overhauled the membership of the five-member panel that oversees the AIF. He replaced five veteran Italian counsellors with a more international ensemble, comprising four non-Italians.
Juan C Zarate, a Harvard Law School professor and a former US government official under president George W Bush, was among the new appointees. He served as deputy national security advisor from 2005 to 2009. Last month, Francis pledged "honesty and transparency" in Vatican economic affairs, adding that allegations of misconduct against former secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone were being reviewed.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Austria’s Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) to strengthen strategic partnership in preventing and fighting corruption.
The MoU was signed by MACC chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed and BAK director Andreas Wieselthaler at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy yesterday.
It is the first time MACC has signed such an MoU with an European country.
Abu Kassim said that following the signing, both agencies would work closely in areas of investigation, inspection on matters relating to corruption offences, prevention, money laundering and asset recovery.
“We will be sharing effective investigation techniques and best practices in carrying out information gathering and in detecting corruption-related offences,” he told a press conference after signing the MoU.
He said joint projects and activities such as training and seminars would be initiated to exchange expertise on operational measures such as information gathering and enforcement.
Wieselthaler said he was confident that the cooperation between the two agencies would be mutually beneficial.
“It is good to be able to connect with other anti-corruption authorities as we can learn various aspects of eradicating graft from each other and adapt them in our respective countries,” he said.
He also suggested that MACC participate in the European Police Office (Europol) as an observer to connect with the Europol system, which could provide a comprehensive database and analytical services to member countries.
“This could be a good platform for MACC to exchange best practices with Europol’s members,” he said.
The MoU signing was witnessed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan and Austrian Ambassador to Malaysia Christophe Ceska.
http://www.thestar.com.myColombian officials are looking into gold trades for evidence of involvement in a suspected drug money-laundering scheme.
Colombia is investigating gold trades for evidence of a suspected cocaine money-laundering scheme, according to a report.
Gold worth £2bn was allegedly smuggled into Colombia in the past two years and then sent via trading firms to the US and Switzerland, according to the country’s tax and customs agency.
The metal was then allegedly bought at inflated prices with drug money, according to Juan Ricardo Ortego, who heads the Colombian agency DIAN and is assisting an investigation started by the Attorney General’s office in 2011.
“It’s money laundering, a way of bringing back dollars”, he told Bloomberg.
Colombia’s Attorney General’s office said the investigation is centred on trading firm CI Goldex SA, although it may extend to other companies.
UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s biggest bank, is being probed by Belgian authorities over allegations of money laundering and organized crime.
Judge Michel Claise is leading the investigation, Anja Bijnens, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor, said by telephone yesterday.
UBS employees approached wealthy Belgian taxpayers including chief executive officers and sportsmen over a 10-year period, encouraging them to open undeclared accounts in Switzerland, M.Belgique magazine reported, without saying where it got the information. UBS Belgium, the bank’s local arm, helped to organize the transfer of large amounts of money to Switzerland, the magazine said.
“UBS conducts its business in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” the bank said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “UBS does not tolerate any activities intended to help its clients circumvent their tax obligations.” It said it was unaware of “any preliminary investigation” of its Belgian operation.
Prosecutors began the probe at the end of last year and it is based on “very detailed” testimony, the magazine said.
European banks are reeling from a series of probes into allegations they rigged benchmark interest rates, manipulated benchmarks in the currency market, helped clients avoid taxes, laundered money and violated U.S. sanctions.
Switzerland’s Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) paid $2.6 billion in fines after its bank unit pleaded guilty to helping Americans cheat on their taxes. U.S. authorities are seeking more than $10 billion from France’s BNP Paribas SA (BNP) for alleged breaches of sanctions on countries including Iran and Sudan.
UBS was fined about $1.5 billion by U.S., U.K. and Swiss regulators in 2012 after a probe into the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate. The Zurich-based lender is still being probed over allegations traders in the world’s largest financial market colluded with counterparts at other firms to manipulate foreign-exchange benchmarks including the WM/Reuters rates.
Chairman Axel Weber said in a May 7 speech that resolving “these issues from the past is a top priority” and the bank is taking a “proactive” approach toward resolving them.
http://www.bloomberg.com
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UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s biggest bank, is being probed by Belgian authorities over allegations of money laundering and organized crime.
Judge Michel Claise is leading the investigation, Anja Bijnens, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor, said by telephone yesterday.
UBS employees approached wealthy Belgian taxpayers including chief executive officers and sportsmen over a 10-year period, encouraging them to open undeclared accounts in Switzerland, M.Belgique magazine reported, without saying where it got the information. UBS Belgium, the bank’s local arm, helped to organize the transfer of large amounts of money to Switzerland, the magazine said.
“UBS conducts its business in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations,†the bank said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “UBS does not tolerate any activities intended to help its clients circumvent their tax obligations.†It said it was unaware of “any preliminary investigation†of its Belgian operation.
Prosecutors began the probe at the end of last year and it is based on “very detailed†testimony, the magazine said.
European banks are reeling from a series of probes into allegations they rigged benchmark interest rates, manipulated benchmarks in the currency market, helped clients avoid taxes, laundered money and violated U.S. sanctions.
Switzerland’s Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) paid $2.6 billion in fines after its bank unit pleaded guilty to helping Americans cheat on their taxes. U.S. authorities are seeking more than $10 billion from France’s BNP Paribas SA (BNP) for alleged breaches of sanctions on countries including Iran and Sudan.
UBS was fined about $1.5 billion by U.S., U.K. and Swiss regulators in 2012 after a probe into the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate. The Zurich-based lender is still being probed over allegations traders in the world’s largest financial market colluded with counterparts at other firms to manipulate foreign-exchange benchmarks including the WM/Reuters rates.
Chairman Axel Weber said in a May 7 speech that resolving “these issues from the past is a top priority†and the bank is taking a “proactive†approach toward resolving them.
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Sri Lanka and Russia will sign an agreement aiming to cooperate on combating transnational crimes. The Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Law and Order of Sri Lanka will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Combating Crimes and Promotion of Police Cooperation.
The objective of the MoU is to promote cooperation between the two countries by way of exchanging information on major criminal issues such as terrorism, crimes against lives and property, corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering etc. The Sri Lankan Cabinet has given its approval to the MoU proposed by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Law and Order.
Miami, Florida - The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an organization of twenty-seven jurisdictions of the Caribbean Basin Region, which have agreed to implement the international standards for Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), Financial Action Task Force Recommendations (FATF Recommendations). In order to protect the international financial system from money laundering and financing of terrorism (ML/FT) risks and to encourage greater compliance with the AML/CFT standards, the CFATF identified jurisdictions that have strategic deficiencies and works with them to address those deficiencies that pose a risk to the international financial system.
Jurisdiction with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that has not made sufficient progress in addressing the deficiencies or has not complied with the Action Plan developed with the CFATF to address these deficiencies.
The CFATF calls on its Members to consider implementing further counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.
In November 2011 the CFATF brought to the attention of its Members certain jurisdictions including Guyana with significant strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regime. With a view to encouraging expeditious rectification of the identified strategic deficiencies Guyana and the CFATF developed an Action Plan with identified target dates to address the strategic deficiencies that exist in Guyana’s national architecture to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The CFATF issued a public statement in May 2013 recommending that Guyana took steps to ensure that it addressed its AML/CFT deficiencies. Additionally, in November 2013 CFATF issued a further public statement calling upon its Members to consider implementing counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana. Guyana has failed to pass the relevant legislation necessary for it to significantly improve its AML/CFT regime and therefore has not substantially addressed the outstanding deficiencies from its mutual evaluation report. The CFATF urges Guyana to urgently, immediately and meaningfully address its AML/CFT deficiencies, in particular by:
1) fully criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing offences,
2) addressing all the requirements on beneficial ownership,
3) strengthening the requirements for suspicious transaction reporting, international co-operation, and the freezing and confiscation of terrorist assets, and 4) fully implementing the UN conventions. Please refer to the 6th follow-up report on Guyana, available at www.cfatf-gafic-org for greater details.
Jurisdiction with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that has made significant progress in addressing these deficiencies - Belize.
In November 2011 the CFATF brought to the attention of its Members certain jurisdictions including Belize with significant strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime. With a view to encouraging expeditious rectification of the identified strategic deficiencies Belize and the CFATF developed an Action Plan with identified target dates to address the strategic deficiencies that existed in Belize’s national architecture to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The CFATF issued a public statement in May 2013 recommending that Belize enacted legislation and issued relevant guidelines addressing their AML/CFT deficiencies. Additionally, in November 2013 CFATF issued a further public statement calling upon its Members to consider implementing counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Belize. Belize had made efforts to address its deficiencies, however, it had not taken sufficient steps towards improving its AML/CFT compliance regime, by failing to approve and implement required legislative reforms.
http://www.fatf-gafi.org
New Canadian Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and pending laws - including the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act (PCMLA) amendments which took effect last February – will be at the forefront of discussions during the upcoming Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) 2nd Annual Canadian AML & Financial Crime Conference.
Other noteworthy topics at the conference will focus on the money laundering risks associated with virtual currencies, safeguarding against cyber fraud and staying current with Canada’s AML regulations. More than 400 anti-money laundering and financial crimes professionals, representing Canada’s leading banks, non-depository institutions and government agencies, will participate in the conference, June 9-10, at the Hyatt Regency Toronto.
Among the professionals participating in conference presentations and workshops will be AML and financial crime experts from Canada’s “big five,” including Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Scotiabank and TD Bank.
One of the highlights of the conference, “Gaining Critical Guidance on Evolving Canadian AML Laws,” will be a regulatory panel discussion featuring representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of the Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). The panel will deliver key recommendations on adhering to the new Canadian laws as well as fulfilling compliance examination expectations. An audience Q&A with the regulators will follow the panel discussion.
Day two will commence with a special presentation on “Compliance Assurance Simulation Testing: Behind the Veil of Willful Blindness” by Michel Girodo, Team Leader at the INTERPOL Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC).The IGEC team created and tested a new proactive methodology designed for use by regulators and compliance officers in detecting and deterring money laundering and corruption among bank employees. “As one of the world’s largest economies, Canada is serious about financial crime,” remarked John J.
Byrne, CAMS, Executive Vice President at ACAMS. “AML professionals in Canada are an essential part of the ACAMS membership, as is this regional conference to our on-going educational programming. With the help of our local task force members, this year’s program will provide much needed coverage of the current regulatory framework and strategies for improving risk management practices. International experts will highlight the country’s foremost challenges and offer tools to improve the skill sets needed to fight financial crime.” The conference also features numerous case study sessions providing in-depth analysis of emerging trends in the areas of anti-bribery and corruption, cyber fraud, risk assessments, tax evasion and virtual currencies. Besides updates on new and evolving financial crimes practices, ACAMS’ events offer valuable opportunities for cross-industry networking among financial professionals.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) with support from GIABA and World Bank on Tuesday commenced a three day national Money Laundering and Terrorism Financial Risk Assessment workshop at the Hill Valley Hotel in Freetown.
The aim of the assessment is to lead to the determination of cost effective and proportionate ant-money laundering program of work, which prioritizes those areas of highest risk for management.
Director of FIU, Ahmed Kamara, said the exercise is designed to be country owned and country driven. The exercise has been structured in accordance with the World Bank National Risk Assessment (NRA) tool but that is not to say that we cannot modify it to reflect our peculiar circumstances.
He said eight Working Groups have been set up to examine the risks and drivers of Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorism Financing (TF) in the following sectors: Crime Proceeds (SLP); National Vulnerability (ONS); Banking Sector (BSL); other Financial Institutions (NRA); Insurance Sector (SLICOM); DNFBPs (SPU); Securities (SEC) and Financial Inclusion (BSL).
Mr. Kamara said these group leaders and their group members come to this process with an impeachable pedigree from their different works of life and what these groups will be doing in the next nine months is to collect, input, analyze and compile data; make presentations and compile reports.
Commissioner of the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara said the NRA is a government-wide exercise that seeks to enhance and deepen our collective understanding of money laundering in the country.
He added that a National Risk Assessment evaluates the nature and extent of a country’s exposure to potential external and internal risks.
Mr. Kamara reiterated that “the ease with which money and valuables can now move across borders means that regulatory authorities and enforcement agencies within and among countries must cooperate and coordinate to address emerging risks”.
The Commissioner said that Africa stands at a crossroads. Economic growth has taken root across much of the region. Exports are booming, foreign investment is on the rise and dependence on aid is declining. Governance reforms are transforming the political landscape. Democracy, transparency and accountability have given Africa’s citizens a greater voice in decisions that affect their lives.
Country Director, World Bank, Ato Brown, noted that in 2012, the international standards for anti- money laundering and the countering of the financing of terrorism were slightly revised and a new requirement was added requiring all countries to undertake a National AML/CFT Risk Assessment.
He said this new requirement is to ensure that AML/CFT System will be designed in a way that ensures scarce resources will be aimed at mitigating the most serious risks, threats and vulnerabilities facing the country.
Mr. Brown said all countries are now trying to meet the new international obligation, so Sierra Leone is a trail blazer in undertaking this work, as only a handful of countries have begun.
GIABA Director of Research and Planning, Mu’aza Umar said the World Bank conducted the AML/CFT Assessment of Sierra Leone and the Detailed Assessment Report was adopted by GIABA in June 2007.
He said the Report revealed the status of AML/CFT of the country as that period. Since then a lot progress has been recorded by the country in all areas-legislation, regulation, enforcement, compliance by reporting entities and greater international cooperation.
Mr. Umar said the Assessment will identify ML/TF mechanisms , methods and techniques used by criminals, individuals and groups, and their associates in the country; determine or estimate the extent to which criminals employ the identified mechanisms, methods and techniques to launder the proceeds of crime through financial gateways, including the informal sector; assess the general political and socio-economic factors of the country that could facilitate ML/TF or hinder effective implementation of AML/CFT measures and to assess and determine the general sectoral ML/TF risks in the financial and designated non-financial sectors.
In his keynote address, Deputy Minister of Justice, Arrow John Bockarie, reiterated that “the menaces of money laundering and terrorism financing can no doubt lead to the breakdown of the orderliness of legitimate businesses, interfere with economic and other state policies, distort market conditions and ultimately create serious systemic risk. Where financial institutions are involved in or tolerate money laundering, the result is often distress and collapse,” the Deputy Minister maintained, adding “as a government, we regard the National Risk Assessment as a critical ingredient to strengthening the country’s AML/CFT regime. The National Risk Assessment is a direct response to Recommendation 1 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) revised standards”.
The Minister assured of government’s commitment to the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, noting that they are menaces that affect not only the domestic economy but have far- reaching consequences for the region and the global economy if left unchecked.
“As a responsible nation within the global community, we feel beholden to join the rest of the world in the fight against these twin evils,” Minister Bockarie committed.
He said as a demonstration of government’s firm commitment to the fight against the two financial menaces, it passed the AML/CFT Act 2012 into law, established the Financial Intelligence Unit as an autonomous institution to coordinate the country’s efforts in the rollout of international standards across all sectors.
ISLAMABAD: To preempt the possibility of Pakistan being blacklisted for failing to stop terror financing, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Friday unanimously approved the Anti-Terrorism Finance (amendment) Bill 2014.
The bill, which has already been passed by the National Assembly, was referred to the panel by the upper house on March 7 for a detailed review.
Under the chairmanship of Senator TalhaMehmood, the committee took up the second amendment on anti-money laundering bill on Friday and discussed various aspects of the legislation that was tabled by the interior ministry in the Senate in March in the face of strong opposition.
Finance ministry’s legal adviser Muneer Zia told the committee that the legislation is particularly aimed at addressing loopholes related to provisions on financing of terrorist outfits in the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. He stated that ministry looked forward to the panel’s approval at the earliest as the matter has been highlighted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which will meet on June 22 to discuss terrorist groups’ financing.
FATF is an international body comprising many countries and international organisations, which sets and monitors international standards on anti-money laundering efforts and counters illicit transactions, used to enhance financing for terrorism.
“If the amendment does not sail smoothly through the upper house before June 22, FATF will blacklist Pakistan like it did in the past,” Zia warned.
Talking to The Express Tribune after the meeting, Senator Talha said that while blacklisting would not cause much harm to Pakistan, the move would still cause embarrassment for the country. Keeping that in mind, the panel approved the bill, he said.
Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator RazaRabbani, who was the main force behind the deferment of the proposed legislation in Senate and had termed it an infringement of basic human rights, did not come up with any proposals for amending the bill despite his earlier wish to do so.
When contacted, Rabbani said, “Even though I am not a member of the standing committee, its chairman has misused his powers by approving an extremely important legislation with only three members and without taking other members of the committee into confidence.”
In April this year, FATF warned Pakistan, Afghanistan and some other countries that it would blacklist them in June if they failed to pass anti-money laundering legislation.
Meanwhile, the first amendment of the Anti terrorism Bill 2014 was deferred to the next sitting of the committee.
Senator Tahir Mashhadi at this moment asserted that more than 45 MQM workers are at large while 26 others were assassinated extra-judicially.
Mashhadi said that in so-called search operations, innocent people are picked up in Karachi and while terrorists are roaming around without any fear as they are state-supported. “Over 17,000 people were arrested during the Karachi operation, however, no-one was awarded any punishment,” he said.
www.tribune.com.pk
The UAE has taken steps to clear up concerns about money laundering in the region with new rules clamping down on illicit financial flows.
The Federal National Council on Wednesday passed a draft law aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism financing in line with international recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body. The UAE is a member of FATF through the GCC.
“We’ve identified that the UAE is one of the highest risk areas for money laundering,” said Ian Gomes, a partner and the regional head of advisory and markets at KPMG. “At the same time, the UAE is also one of the most proactive in taking steps to reduce the risk. The new legislation reinforces the integrity of its anti-money laundering framework.”
Money laundering is becoming an increasing area of focus for governments and companies as sanctions have widened against countries. US regulators have also been issuing hefty fines to banks falling foul of money laundering rules.
Under the new law, a national panel – made up of representatives from multiple government bodies – will be set up to oversee the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The legislation also poses penalties for money launderers, including jail terms of up to 10 years, fines of up to Dh500,000, or both. Businesses face even harsher penalties, including fines ranging between Dh300,000 and Dh1 million.
Money laundering by an individual or company was criminalized in the UAE in 2002, while the Central Bank can also impose sanctions and revoke the license of banks falling foul of its anti-money laundering procedures. But the new legislation further beefs up the regulatory framework. It penalizes board members, managers and staff of companies that fail to report money laundering or terrorist financing carried out by their companies with a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to Dh100,000, or both.
For the first time, whistleblowers voluntarily reporting suspected money laundering or terrorist financing will also be protected by law.
“Protection to whistleblowers and witnesses is important as previously these people may have been scared to come forward,” said Mr. Gomes.
He said the focus was now increasingly on banks to bolster their internal anti-money laundering rules, saying some in the region were “lagging behind” their international peers.
Globally, anti-money laundering costs are rising at an average rate of 53 per cent for banks, according to a KPMG survey released last week.
Bryan Stirewalt, managing director of supervision at the Dubai Financial Services Authority, said: “Every country in the world has vulnerabilities to criminal elements and illicit finance, and these vulnerabilities must be addressed in an effective manner. Without question, a comprehensive legal framework to identify and combat serious crimes and illicit financial gains benefits the economy and society as a whole.”
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Union and INTERPOL hosted in Brussels a two-day high-level workshop in order to express their joint commitment to suppressing maritime crime in all its forms.
The event brought together nearly 150 representatives from law enforcement, justice sectors, financial intelligence units and the private sector of more than 20 countries in piracy-affected regions. It identified priorities for the EU and international bodies to better promote maritime governance and security, and enforce links between law enforcement and financial intelligence services.
Organized crime at sea manifests itself in a variety of ways: piracy and armed robbery at sea, a number of cross-border and organized crimes including seaborne trafficking of arms, narcotics and human beings, as well as illegal and unregulated fishing. These crimes cost the global economy billions of euros, but of greater concern than the financial cost is the threat maritime crime poses to human security. The growth in criminal groups, enriched by the proceeds of maritime crime, has caused an increase in violence and insecurity in a host of coastal nations.
While piracy may have dropped from the news headlines since the decline of Somali piracy, it remains a key global challenge. The EU is therefore in the forefront of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) efforts this year as the chair of this international forum. As Maciej Popowski, Deputy Executive Secretary General of the European External Action Service noted in his opening remarks, “while the EU is leading a prominent international naval effort to counter Somali piracy, Operation ATALANTA, a long term and sustainable response to the challenges of maritime crime will require hitting criminals where it hurts the most: their profits.”
The EU and its member states have a critical role to play as this is not just a security challenge, but an essential part of the EU’s development engagement with key regions. Marcus Cornaro, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s EuropeAid, noted that “we need to assist partner countries addressing the systemic economic and social factors that cause maritime crime, not only in the Horn of Africa, but also in other regions at risk such as the Gulf of Guinea and in South-East Asia.”
This must be a coordinated effort, with the EU and international community working in support of national and regional bodies in the affected regions. INTERPOL President Mireille Ballestrazzi emphasized that “to participate effectively in the fight against maritime crime, we must anticipate the threats and respond in a coordinated manner.”
This conference was organized under the auspices of the Critical Maritime Routes programme, funded by the European Union.
ZURICH—Switzerland's Parliament is considering legislation that would expand its money-laundering laws to include officials from international sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee.
On Wednesday, the legal committee of the Swiss lower house said it had backed a proposal by an upper-house panel to include executive members of international sports bodies in money-laundering legislation. The committee announced the decision on a parliamentary website.
Lawmakers in the lower house will debate the committee's recommendation sometime this year, most likely in September, according to a spokeswoman for the commission.
Switzerland is home to a host of international sports organization, including the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, the organizer of the World Cup. The Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, and the IOC are also based in the Alpine nation.
FIFA, UEFA and the IOC didn't respond to requests for comment.
Switzerland, one of the world's biggest financial centers, has been clamping down on money laundering, most recently freezing the assets of 32 people linked to the ousted Ukrainian leader.
Last December, the Swiss cabinet extended a hold on more than three quarters of a billion dollars in Egyptian and Tunisian assets, including funds belonging to former Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
http://online.wsj.comThe Hong Kong government is expected to extend the law against money laundering – now applicable only to the financial sector – to lawyers, accountants, property agencies and jewelry shops, industry observers say.
If the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance (AMLO) is extended to these sectors, the number of suspicious transactions they report is likely to increase, said Simon Deane, a partner at Deacons, one of Hong Kong’s oldest law firms.
“I would expect there to be a spike in the number of reports filed with the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit from some of these sectors, because they would be obliged by law to conduct client due diligence,” Deane said.
AMLO, which took effect on April 1, 2012, covers banks, securities companies and insurance firms, as well as money service operators (remittance agents and foreign exchange firms).
Deane said it is possible that the law will be extended to other sectors, like lawyers, property agents, jewelers and accountants.
The government appears to be willing to do so.
A spokeswoman for the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau said, “We will consider appropriate regulatory or legislative measures to enhance the anti-money-laundering and counter-financing-of-terrorism standards for non-financial businesses in Hong Kong.”
The government has been working closely with those in non-financial businesses, including lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, estate agents and dealers of jewelry, in implementing anti-money-laundering and counter-financing-of-terrorism measures, she said.
It is in “close dialogue with the relevant professional organizations, including intensive efforts in collaboration with these organizations, to enhance practitioners’ awareness about anti-money-laundering and counter-financing-of-terrorism [measures]. We will continue with these efforts,” the spokeswoman said.
AMLO may be extended to non-financial sectors in the medium to long term rather than the short term, because it will create extra costs for those sectors, said Wilson Lai, market manager at Wolters Kluwer.
Western countries have told Afghanistan its banks will be put on an international blacklist if it does not pass an anti-money laundering law within the next few weeks, the central bank governor told Reuters on Monday.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that sets standards on how countries combat money laundering, is due to decide at its meeting on June 22 on whether to blacklist Afghanistan.
That would cut Afghan banks off from most international financial institutions, causing a potentially devastating impact on the country’s already weak economy.
Afghan banks were dealt another blow last week when Chinese banks halted dollar transactions with most Afghan banks without warning, making it difficult for businesses to pay for imports.
“We will wait and see what the parliament will come up with,” central bank governor Noorullah Delawari told Reuters.
He said he had hoped Western countries would support Afghanistan’s bid to have the blacklist deadline delayed by the regulator because the country’s presidential elections are underway. This was ruled out by Western ambassadors on Sunday at an emergency meeting with the country’s top security advisor, the governor said.
Western officials say Afghanistan has had plenty of time to meet the deadline and decisions by the regulator cannot be delayed for legal reasons.
“I strongly encouraged the government to work closely together with parliament in the national interest of avoiding a financial crisis,” EU ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin told Reuters after the meeting, declining to comment on specific details.
“It can be - and should be done.” FATF has previously told Afghanistan to pass laws meeting global standards against money laundering and terrorist financing or face the blacklist at its June meeting. The central bank has drafted a law but it has been held up by discussions in cabinet for months, leading to some key provisions being removed from the draft.
As a result, in its current form even if it is passed, it will not save Afghanistan from the blacklist, the central bank and Western diplomats say. It is unclear why some provisions were removed. Diplomats and analysts say it is possible that certain provisions were removed by Afghan officials worried about being targeted by international money-laundering laws.
Afghan banks have been struggling since FATF put Afghanistan on a dark grey list early this year. They say the move has affected their ability to process transactions such as families sending money to students’ abroad.
http://www.thenews.com.pkBangladesh--The central bank governor Dr. Atiur Rahman yesterday asked the anti money laundering cell of insurance companies to strictly comply with rules and monitor the suspicious transactions to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing He also suggested the cell to send the report of suspicious transactions, if any, immediately to the central bank for prompt action. He, however, said money laundering and terrorist financing is not an internal problem, rather it’s a global concern.
The governor was addressing a conference on ‘Anti Money Laundering for Insurance Companies’ at a city hotel on Sunday. Bangladesh Bank (BB) and Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) jointly organized the conference.
Mere law can not check the problem of money laundering and terrorist financing, said the governor stressing the need for a joint effort of all concerned to fight against money laundering and terror financing form the country. He also highlighted the urgency for ensuring transparency and accountability in the country’s financial sector with a view to preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
To reinforce the vigilance against money laundering and terrorist financing, the central bank has already introduced the software 'goAML', said Atiur.
At present all banks, non-bank financial institutions and agencies submit cash transaction reports to the central bank through this software which, he said, helps the authority identify the suspicious transactions.
Addressing as the special guest, Banks and Financial Institutions Division (BFID) of Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. M Aslam Alam said the country has enough rules and regulations but proper implementation of those are not satisfactory.
The policy makers are formulating laws one after another but somehow these are not exercised accordingly, claimed the secretary.
“Vested groups are very active and commit crimes whenever they find any chance, so we have to be alert to check the ill practice. We can not stop the happenings, but it is possible to check or reduce the offences”, said the finance secretary.
He expected that the joint initiative could reduce the crime substantially.
The country’s economy is now well connected with the global economy and it needs to attain the trust of the global society for further development, said the secretary.
To get confidence of the global society, BFID secretary said, the central bank has already taken several initiatives to check the money laundering and terrorist financing from the year 2008.
The risk of the money laundering and the terror financing is reduced substantially due to strict monitoring by central bank and BFID.
The secretary underscored the need for automation of country’s insurance sector immediately to identify the suspicious transactions.
He also suggested to install modern financial software to prevent the fake and suspicious transactions.
The conference was addressed among others by the Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena Md Razi Hassan, Bangladesh Insurance Association President Shiek Kabir Hossain and Member of IDRA Md Quddus Khan. The IDRA Chairman M Shefaque Ahmed presided over the anti money laundering conference.
On May 8, India and Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Border Cooperation. The MoU was signed by Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Indian ambassador to Myanmar, and Major General Kyaw Nyunt, deputy defense minister of Myanmar, in Nay Pyi Taw.
The MoU is intended to provide a framework for security cooperation and intelligence exchange between Indian and Myanmar security agencies. It provides for the conduct of coordinated patrols on the respective sides of the international border and the maritime boundary by the armed forces of the two countries. It provides for exchanging information and intelligence in the fight against insurgency, arms and drugs smuggling, human and wildlife trafficking between India and Myanmar. Both sides have also agreed to take steps to prevent illegal cross-border activities. The MoU specifies the level and frequency of meetings between the armed forces, drug control agencies and wildlife crime control agencies.
In a statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, it was expressed that it is expected that this MoU will lead to enhanced and tangible cooperation between Indian and Myanmar security agencies in ensuring peace, stability and security along the long international land and maritime border between the two countries.
Ensuring security along the 1,643 km land border shared by India and Myanmar has been one of the most interminable problems facing the two countries. The entire border length touches Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km). This MoU is the latest in a string of such advances which have been recently pursued by India and Myanmar.
Some of the other steps taken in the direction of securing the border include contingents from the Assam Rifles being deployed for counter-insurgency and border guarding along this border. Of the sanctioned strength of 46 battalions, 31 battalions are for counter-insurgency and 15 are for border guarding role. They are mandated to check infiltration, smuggling of arms, ammunition, drugs, fake currency notes etc. Moreover, fencing work by India’s Border Roads Organization has been sanctioned and processed but is hotly contested by the local population, political parties of both India and Myanmar.
The MoU is intended to alleviate some of the border related issues like cross-border movement of militants, illegal arms and drugs which are some of the security problems emanating from the porous nature of the India-Myanmar land border clearly articulated by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Insurgency has been a major hindrance to life in the north-eastern region of India. Myanmar has been a ground in which groups like the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) faction and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), among others, are known to have set up bases. Additionally, checking infiltration, smuggling of arms, ammunition, drugs, fake currency notes are some of the issues high on the border security agenda, all of which find resonance in the MoU.
The MHA had previously noted that the border (Indo-Myanmar) permits Free Movement Regime (FMR), up to 16 km across the border, making it extremely porous. Although this relaxation is meant for the local people in the border area, it was being exploited by nefarious elements. Moreover, cannabis herbs, ganja and banned pseudoephedrine tablets are regularly seized by Assam Rifles personnel and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials when they are being smuggled to Myanmar.
Illegal trading has been a constant issue along the border as well. Lack of adequate infrastructural facilities at Moreh and Zokhawatar – the two designated points for normal trade and border trade respectively, and a restrictive trading list have adversely affected normal trade at Moreh and given rise to informal trade, which compounded and complicated the security issue further. The MoU is intended to enable this entire gamut of issues to be effectively handled and to the benefit of both countries as well as the local people along the border.
The MoU thus takes into account the need for promoting security cooperation with Myanmar. Myanmar is integral to India, given its geographic proximity as well as the cultural-historical linkages that bind the people of northeast India with their brethren in Myanmar. Undoubtedly the MoU underscores the need of the hour, which is to ensure security cooperation between the neighbors. However, it is missing a cultural component, which will go a long way in ensuring the support of those inhabiting the border areas in preventing security related disasters from occurring and in an overall manner as well.
The FMR should not be compromised, and other such benefits for the local border inhabitants are warranted to ensure that the life they live due to the security-bereft situation is somewhat offset by the local avenues for contact and cooperation among kindred inhabiting lands on both sides of the border. The MoU is a laudable effort as it is yet another step towards buttressing India-Myanmar ties, especially as Myanmar is also India’s only land bridge to Southeast Asia, and thereby to the dynamic and the potential economic cynosure of the world, the ASEAN. This underscores the importance of having a favorable overall relationship with Myanmar, especially where the land border is concerned.
Apart from being the gateway to the ASEAN, Myanmar is also the prism through which India is geographically compelled to ‘Look East’ or ‘Engage East’ for any fathomable progress in its ties with the countries of Southeast Asia and beyond. The MoU is impressive for the framework it generates to tackle security issues and it provides a basis for further cooperation between India and Myanmar in the cultural, economic and strategic avenues.
http://www.eurasiareview.comAbuja — NIGERIA has been rated first among the most compliant states in terms of implementing money laundering regulations.
The rating follows the Financial Intelligence Unit's (NFIU's) compliance with the Financial Action Task Force 40 + 9 Recommendations.
According to a NFIU statement the rating was the highpoint of deliberations at the 21 plenary sessions of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA) in Niamey, Niger Republic.
The unit added that the accolade contradicts publication in section of the media alleging that the NFIU had been frozen out of the committee of global Financial Intelligence Units.
“One of such reports had alleged that the NFIU, an autonomous body domiciled within the EFCC, stand the risk of being suspended from the Egmont Group by June 1, 2014. This claim, in addition to the report that the NFIU has been disconnected from the Secured Web of the Egmont Group and cannot share intelligence with other Financial Intelligence Units around the world, is unfounded and patently false."
NFIU's membership of the Egmont Group was not under any threat.
“Indeed, the Unit has been discharging its obligations to the Group. The much touted disconnection of the NFIU from the Egmont Secured Web has also become a relic, as the Unit has since been re-connected to the ESW, with unfettered access to other 138 members of the Group”.
The unit added that the rating came after a report by a team from the Egmont Group that visited the NFIU to assess the situation in the aftermath of the controversial reported barricade of the Unit by armed security operatives in November 2013.
“The fact finding team upon the completion of its investigation, observed that the armed security presence did not in any way interfere with the operations of the Unit but that they were only stationed to ensure an orderly transition of FIU directors. The team therefore recommended that the NFIU be re- connected to the Egmont Secured Website.”
http://allafrica.comThe Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) will hold the XXXVIII Meeting of the Group of Experts for the Control of Money Laundering on May 22-23 at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC.
In the meeting, the Sub-Working Groups on International Cooperation and Forfeiture, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Criminal Investigation Agency will analyze the follow-up on the recommendations carried out in the previous Meeting of the Group of Experts, held in Brasilia in September 2013.
The agenda also includes the presentation of the CICAD initiative for the development of a Legal Framework for International Cooperation for Confiscation and Asset Recovery, and the progress of the analysis requested from the working groups by the Group of Experts at the Brasilia meeting.
The Brazilian Minister of Justice and Chair of the CICAD’s Group of Experts for the Control of Money Laundering, Paulo Abrão, and the Executive Secretary of CICAD, Ambassador Paul Simons, will open the meeting. The inauguration will take place in the OAS General Secretariat building in Washington, DC, and will be open to the press.
Currently the Group of Experts is chaired by Brazil and the Vice-Chair is held by Uruguay.
http://www.sknvibes.com
Bank Negara expressed concern today that criminal activities in the money services business (MSB) could adversely impact socio-economic development, after Malaysia recorded an illicit outflow worth RM174 billion based on a Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report last year.
Speaking at the regional conference in Kuala Lumpur today, Bank Negara deputy governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim said MSB played a major role in developing the country’s economy and wealth.
“MSB plays an important role in supporting an inclusive financial system and easing economic transactions, which contribute to growth and wealth,” he said at Bank Negara today.
“If not managed well, transactions based on cash, global money senders and the customer verification process, could expose it to the threat of international money launderers.
"Failure to look into these risks would jeopardize the country’s socio-economic development," said Muhammad.
Some 300 MSB industry players attended Bank Negara’s regional conference, jointly organized by the World Bank and the Malaysian Association of Money Services Business (MAMSB).
MAMSB president Ramasamy Veeran said money changers and senders should be monitored as they were directly exposed to financial criminal activities.
“We are focused on the implementation of the system to prevent such activities from happening. Firstly, we teach them administration, secondly we use an online system that adheres to the standards and can be audited,” he said.
About RM174 billion was illegally siphoned out of Malaysia in 2011, making the country the fourth largest exporter of illicit capital that year after Russia, China and India, GFI revealed.
The Washington-based research and advocacy organization said crime, corruption, and tax evasion drained US$946.7 billion (RM3.05 trillion) from the developing world in 2011, up more than 13.7% from 2010 – when illicit financial outflows totaled US$832.4 billion.
But Putrajaya has dismissed the large figure, saying that 80% of it was due to trade mispricing, and not graft nor crime. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low said the high global ranking was normal due to its active international trade.
Muhammad today outlined three issues that must be focused on to curb money laundering, which were awareness among industry players on the risks of MSB, creating a credible and effective enforcement system, and promoting professionalism in the industry.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com
