Financial Crime World

Fiji Banks Told to Step Up Anti-Money Laundering Efforts

In a bid to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the Reserve Bank of Fiji has issued several guidelines for banking institutions in the country. The guidelines aim to provide further requirements on the obligation to monitor customers, transactions, and business relationships, identify and report suspicious transactions.

Guidelines Issued by the Reserve Bank of Fiji

The guidelines are divided into four main categories:

Guideline 1: Suspicious Transaction Reporting

  • Financial institutions must provide detailed guidance on how to identify a suspicious transaction.
  • Sector-specific examples of indicators of suspicious transactions will be provided.
  • Red flags linked to key criminal or predicate offenses will also be listed.

Guideline 2: Reporting a Suspicious Transaction by Paper

  • Guidance will be provided on completing a Suspicious Transaction Report form when reporting a suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Guideline 3: Reporting of Cash Transactions ($5,000 and above)

  • Non-bank financial institutions must report cash transactions of $5,000 or more (or its equivalent in foreign currency) to the FIU.

Guideline 4: Customer Identification & Verification

  • Detailed guidance will be provided on implementing customer identification and verification requirements under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act and Regulations.
  • A risk-based approach will be applied to customer identification and verification measures.

Additional Requirements

The guidelines also require financial institutions to:

  • Identify and assess money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks that may arise from new products, business practices, and technologies.
  • Deal with higher-risk countries, politically exposed persons, real estate agents and businesses, and legal practitioners under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act and Regulations.

AML Policy Guideline

The Reserve Bank of Fiji’s AML Policy Guideline, issued in 2014, outlines minimum requirements for managing money laundering and terrorist financing risk by financial institutions licensed to conduct banking business in Fiji. The policy requires financial institutions to:

  • Develop a Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Management Framework with a documented Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Policy.

Objectives of the Guidelines

The guidelines aim to ensure that financial institutions in Fiji are equipped to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorist financing activities, and to protect the integrity of the country’s financial system.