Money laundering and the financing of terrorism were key topics at the 18th annual meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering

Money laundering and the financing of terrorism were key topics at the 18th annual meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering held in Auckland this week (13 to 17 July 2015).

New Zealand’s Justice Minister Hon. Amy Adams delivered the opening address to about 360 delegates from 41 jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific and 27 observer jurisdictions and organisations from around the world.

The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr Rajesh Chhana, Deputy Secretary, Policy at New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice and Commissioner Andrew Colvin, from the Australian Federal Police.

Mr Chhana says money laundering and the financing of terrorism continue to be major challenges facing jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region.

“New Zealand is pleased to host the 18th annual meeting and hold the co-chair of the APG. This Annual Meeting is significant as the first reports under the APG’s third round of mutual evaluations were adopted.”

“Terrorism financing concerns, in particular, have taken on global proportions with the rise of ISIL.”

“The APG is an important organisation involved in ensuring that measures to counter terrorist financing are strongly implemented in member countries and jurisdictions to address this and other terrorist financing threats.”

At the Annual Meeting, APG delegates adopted five mutual evaluation reports: Australia, Malaysia, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu. These are the first reports to be adopted by the APG under the new international standards against money laundering and the financing of terrorism/proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Those members recently assessed shared their experiences with other members preparing for the next round of mutual evaluations by the FATF and APG.

Delegates also discussed:
• how to assess national and sectoral money laundering and terrorist financing risks;
• practical issues for international co-operation;
• current money laundering and terrorist financing methods and trends; and
• the money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated specifically with gold.

Commissioner Colvin says the APG has a growing standing in addressing money laundering.

“I’ve been involved in the APG for a number of years now. It has grown considerably from its original 13 member countries. All 41 members of the APG can take pride in the organisation it has become,” Commissioner Colvin says.

“The APG is a recognized leader in the world on technical assistance and training and serves as a benchmark for similar organisations around the globe on how to organize and deliver anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing programmes.”

“I am also pleased to be chairing the APG, on behalf of Australia, jointly with New Zealand. This unique occasion evidences the collective resolve of the members and observers of the APG to adopt and implement the global standards to deter serious financial crimes and prevent the resulting flow of their proceeds.”

Following on from previous years success, the APG Technical Assistance and Training Forum was run in parallel to the Annual Meeting and again provided an opportunity for members to discuss their priority technical assistance needs with donors. This ensures the technical assistance is targeted, coordinated and responds to both individual members and regional needs.

We thank New Zealand for being a valuable and active APG member, Co-Chair and host of this year’s annual meeting.

Further information about the APG may be viewed at the website: www.apgml.org.

ENDS

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