The government is sparing no effort in preparing Taiwan for the third round of mutual evaluations by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) set to take place in a year’s time, Premier Lai Ching-te said Nov. 22 in Taipei City.
 
Close public-private sector cooperation is key to combating financial crimes, bringing local practices more in line with global standards and promoting transparent money flows, Lai said. This will enhance Taiwan’s international reputation and make it easier for domestic banking institutions to extend their global reach, he added.
 
According to the premier, since money laundering often involves illegal activities such as corruption, drugs and gambling, efforts to further crack down on the practice will improve social cohesiveness and is in keeping with public expectations of good governance.
 
Lai cited the Legislature’s promulgation of the Money Laundering Control Act in October 1996 as evidence of the government’s commitment in this regard. Taiwan was the first in Asia to pass such a bill, which allowed the country to become a founding member of APG the following year, he added.
 
Australia-based APG is a regional body of the intergovernmental organization Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering. It aims to implement international standards against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing related to weapons of mass destruction.
 
Taiwan received a positive review during APG’s first round of mutual evaluations in 2001. But during the second round in 2007, it was found noncompliant and relegated to the regular follow-up list before being further downgraded to the enhanced follow-up list in 2011.
 
Former Premier Lin Chuan initiated a raft of measures to remedy this situation, including establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering Office, extensive regulatory revisions and strengthened internal controls by local banking institutions. As a result of these steps, Taiwan was removed in July from the transitional follow-up list during APG’s annual meeting in Sri Lanka.
 
According to AMLO, a number of initiatives are planned in readiness for APG’s third round of mutual evaluations. These include completing Taiwan’s money laundering risk assessment, assisting all sectors with respective risk evaluations, reviewing relevant policies and regulations for drafting national action guidelines, and staging a pre-evaluation preparatory meeting.
 
In addition, AMLO will invite experts from APG and other international organizations to visit Taiwan for consultations and input into the evaluation process next month. (SFC-E)