Laos adopts anti-money laundering law
Laos adopts anti-money laundering law
Laos has adopted a new law on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and with its acceptance is demonstrating the country's stance and its commitment given to the international community.
The law was approved on Monday at the National Assembly (NA)'s 7th ordinary session.
Laos is now developing comprehensively to create favourable conditions to enable international integration, which may attract attempts at money laundering or the financing of terrorism, so if the country didn't have a law on these issues it would face being blacklisted next year by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), of which Laos is a member, the central bank governor Dr Somphao Phaysith said to local newspapers.
This would have had a huge impact on the country's development, especially in the areas of international support, investment, payments between Laos and other countries and the stock and securities exchange.
It would also have caused delays for Laos to integrate with the Asean Economic Community and carry out its obligations to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he added.
The introduction of the law will also supplement the Lao government's commitment to fulfill its international obligations as Laos has been a state party to many UN conventions on this matter.
These conventions include the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism .
Dr Somphao said Laos has had an anti-money laundering intelligence unit since 2007 which has acted in line with the Prime Ministerial Decree on anti-money laundering and which has so far found 104 suspected cases of suspicious transactions from commercial banks and, of these, has already sent 15 cases to relevant officials for investigation.
If the new law has been approved according to its draft, it has eight parts, seven chapters, and 72 articles, which will make it more comprehensive than the existing Prime Ministerial Decree on anti-money laundering that has only six chapters and 35 articles.
vientiane times
