BOL prioritises anti- money laundering efforts
BOL prioritises anti- money laundering efforts
The banking and financial sectors in Laos will need better collaboration with the Bank of the Lao PDR in terms of money transfer and other financial activities to lessen the risk of any potential money laundering activities.
This was a key remark from Acting Head of the Ant-Money Laundering Intelligence Unit under the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) Ms Phengsy Phengmeuang, as she chaired the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) meeting in Vientiane yesterday.
“Currently the growth of the global economy is on track; financial services are also developed but the criminal cases in relation to money laundering and financing for terrorism are also a threat for the economy worldwide,” she said.
Ms Phengsy said Laos has not yet faced serious issues in terms of money laundering and financing for terrorism but it still needs to strictly follow the guidelines of the government and the international banking bodies to prevent all forms of illegal money laundering.
Representatives of commercial banks, public and private, as well as officials from the relevant government ministries were in attendance at the meeting.
Laos is one of the members of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and it has obligations in implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s 40 recommendations to meet international standards on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism.
At the same time, the Anti-Money Laundering Intelligence Unit (AMLIU) under the Bank of the Lao PDR also cooperates with many international bodies to enhance the capacity of its technical personnel who are working in the crime prevention sector and the relevant areas.
Last year, the AMLIU signed cooperation documents with many Lao inspection authorities in the hope of exchanging information with each other.
Most importantly, AMLIU also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KOFIU) to exchange information on preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
In 2010, Laos was firstly evaluated by the FATF's APG which indicated the country had deficiencies in AML/CFT. This resulted in Laos being placed on the Grey list of FATF.
In late 2015, the FATF plenary meeting placed Laos on the Dark Grey List due to the country's inability to meet regulation priorities in a timely manner.
As a result, the BOL is now actively working to address its AML/CFT deficiencies and the dissemination of its action plan and various principles and regulations in a bid to graduate from the Dark Grey List of FATF.
