Money Laundering: The Hidden Menace
Money laundering poses a significant financial burden on financial institutions, forcing many to turn away profitable business in an effort to prevent illegal activities. Despite efforts to detect and report money laundering, a staggering number of institutions have been found to be actively engaging in the practice for profit.
The Task Force’s Plan
The Money Laundering Prevention Task Force has launched a comprehensive plan to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. The plan focuses on detection, disruption, and prevention, with agencies working together to share intelligence and best practices.
Detection: A Team Effort
The Task Force acknowledges that financial institutions play a crucial role in detecting money laundering, but emphasizes that it cannot be left solely to them. To combat this issue:
- Agencies will train their staff to understand the complexities of money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
- Assistance will be provided to regulated entities to detect these offenses.
Disruption: Taking Down Offenders
The Task Force will actively seek out and engage in activities that emphasize the robustness of Samoa’s anti-money laundering systems. Disruption efforts may take various forms:
- Prosecution
- Confiscation of illicit assets
- Targeting syndicates to change offending behavior
Prevention: Stopping Offenders Before They Start
Prevention involves developing strategies to stop others from following in the footsteps of previous offenders. To achieve this:
- The Task Force will regularly review intelligence on money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
- Strategies will be formulated to prevent repetition or commission of similar offenses.
Testing and Correction
The Authority and Task Force acknowledge that AML/CTF/CPF systems benefit from testing and correction, just like computer networks are tested to ensure they cannot be hacked. Regular testing will be a feature of Samoa’s system to ensure effectiveness, with corrective measures put in place to correct identified deficiencies.
A Co-Operative System
The fight against profit-driven crime requires agencies with different powers, information, and skills to work closely together. To achieve this:
- Task Force member agencies will share information and personnel freely in both formal and informal arrangements.
- A seamless flow of intelligence and expertise will be ensured.
Targeting Facilitators
In the fight against money laundering, it is significantly more cost-effective to change the behavior of facilitators than individual predicate offenders. To achieve this:
- AML/CTF resources will be applied in a manner that has the greatest possible impact.
- Facilitators and those who engage in the laundering of other people’s proceeds will be targeted.
High-Risk Areas
The Task Force will conduct regular assessments of ML/TF/PF risks and apply resources to known money laundering activities before moving on to lower-order risks.