Title: Brunei Darussalam’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Measures Assessed in APG Report

Subtitle: Key Findings from the Third Round Mutual Evaluation Report

The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has published its Third Round Mutual Evaluation Report on Brunei Darussalam’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measures as of November 2022. This report provides an overview of Brunei’s current AML/CTF system, its level of compliance with the FATF 40 Recommendations, and recommendations to strengthen the system.

Key Findings

1. Brunei’s Risk Assessment Brunei has a well-established understanding of ML/TF risks, having conducted several risk assessments. The private sector involvement in risk assessment is improving, helping them better understand ML/TF risks.

   Good understanding of ML/TF risks Multiple risk assessments conducted Improving private sector understanding of ML/TF risks

2. Policy and Operational Coordination Although Brunei has managed to align policies and activities to address higher-risk areas, challenges persist in policy and operational coordination. This is particularly concerning in regards to proliferation financing and beneficial ownership of companies.

   Some policy and operational alignment Challenges in coordination for proliferation financing and beneficial ownership

3. Financial Intelligence, ML Investigations, Prosecutions, and Confiscation Brunei’s law enforcement agencies (LEAs) utilize financial intelligence effectively, using it for ML investigations and asset tracing. However, challenges exist in confiscating criminal proceeds that have moved overseas.

   Effective use of financial intelligence Limited challenges in ML investigations Moderate number of ML investigations and prosecutions Focuses on self-laundering activities Struggles with confiscating criminal proceeds overseas

4. Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Brunei places a high priority on combating terrorism and terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF), allocating significant resources for these efforts. However, Brunei has not yet conducted a full evaluation of its risk and implemented a PF TFS, leaving room for improvement.

   High priority on combating TF and PF Significant resources allocated No full evaluation of risk and no PF TFS implemented

5. Preventive Measures Brunei demonstrates strengths in implementing preventive measures, especially in the financial sector. However, there are still gaps, mainly regarding the transparency of legal persons and arrangements and the regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

   Effective preventive measures Strengths in financial sector Gaps in transparency of legal persons and arrangements Lack of a regulatory framework for VASPs

Please note that this markdown version is a rough interpretation and editing of the raw text. The original report should be consulted for the most accurate and contextually complete information.