Singapore, 1 November 2004 - Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore will host a plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2005. This is the first time that a FATF1 plenary will take place in South-east Asia. The decision to hold the June 2005 plenary in Singapore was made at the October FATF plenary meeting in Paris.
2 More than 400 government officials and experts on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing from 50 countries and international organisations will gather at the Plenary in Singapore. They will discuss ways to enhance anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) standards while focusing on developments in Asia Pacific. For the first time, the Plenary in Singapore will also feature a joint session between FATF and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)2. Singapore has been a FATF member since 1991 and a member of APG since its inception in 1997.
3 Monetary Authority of Singapore's Managing Director Mr Koh Yong Guan said, Singapore strongly supports the work of FATF and APG and we are pleased to host the June 2005 Plenary. This further demonstrates our commitment to the international effort to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.
4 Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Tan Guong Ching, said, The region-focused Plenary offers an opportunity for APG to showcase the contributions of APG member countries, in the global fight against money-laundering and terrorist financing. We look forward to working with both FATF and APG to ensure that this inaugural region-focused Plenary is a success for all parties.
5 Singapore has been an active participant in the global fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. Singapore's comprehensive legal, institutional, policy and supervisory framework to combat money laundering and terrorism financing was endorsed under the IMF/World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) in August 2003. The FSAP team, who assessed Singapore's AML/CFT regime against the FATF standards, also noted that financial institutions here have a strong compliance culture for requirements to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
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Notes to Editor:
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The Task Force is therefore a policy-making body which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.
Its standards, comprising 40 Recommendations on money laundering and nine Special Recommendations on terrorist financing, are recognised and adopted by almost all countries in the world. International organisations such as the IMF, World Bank, the Bank of International Settlement, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions also recognise and adopt FATF's standards.
FATF monitors members' progress in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In performing these activities, FATF collaborates with other international bodies involved in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
FATF holds three plenary meetings each year - February, June and October.
For more information on FATF, visit http://www.fatf-gafi.org
Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)
APG was established in February 1997 as a regional response to the global threat of money laundering.
The APG Secretariat assists members and other jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region to implement internationally accepted AML standards particularly the FATF 40 Recommendations.
For more information on APG, visit http://www.apgml.org
1 FATF is an international body of 33 members dedicated to the development of international standards and policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
2 APG is a regional body of 28 countries associated with the FATF which encourages the adoption of the FATF AML standards within Asia Pacific.