Financial Crime World

Terrorist Abuse: International Cooperation Crucial to Combat Money Laundering

A recent report by the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has highlighted the need for significant improvements in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures in Chinese Taipei. The country’s efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering have been deemed inadequate, with a lack of coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

Challenges Facing Chinese Taipei

The report found that while Chinese Taipei has made some progress in recent years, major improvements are needed to strengthen supervision and implementation of preventive measures. Specifically:

  • Lack of coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies
  • Failure to effectively prevent the misuse of legal persons and arrangements
  • Limited ability to trace and confiscate criminal assets
  • Low conviction rates and lenient sentences for money laundering cases

Importance of International Cooperation

The report emphasized the importance of international cooperation in combating terrorist financing and money laundering. Chinese Taipei has not prioritized the pursuit of money laundering cases until 2017, resulting in low conviction rates and lenient sentences.

Recommendations

To address these weaknesses, the APG has called for:

  • Enhanced Coordination: Enhance coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies
  • Improved Risk Assessment: Improve risk assessment and mitigation measures
  • Increased International Cooperation: Increase international coordination to combat terrorist financing and money laundering
  • Prioritize Money Laundering Cases: Prioritize the pursuit of money laundering cases and increase efforts to recover stolen assets
  • Strengthen Supervision: Strengthen supervision and implementation of preventive measures

Key Findings

The report highlighted several key findings, including:

  • Chinese Taipei’s understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks is sound, but coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies need improvement.
  • The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has a well-developed analytical capability, but lacks human resources to carry out its functions effectively.
  • Money laundering cases are not prioritized by the authorities, resulting in low conviction rates and lenient sentences.
  • The country’s ability to trace and confiscate criminal assets is limited.
  • International cooperation is crucial to combating terrorist financing and money laundering.