Financial Crime World

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Fiji’s Anti-Money Laundering Policies Face Scrutiny

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A recent report has shed light on Fiji’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The report, which assesses the country’s compliance with international anti-money laundering standards, reveals a mixed bag of results.

Progress Made

According to the report, Fiji has made progress in implementing some key measures:

  • Assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach (R.1)
  • National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
  • Customer due diligence (R.10)

Areas Requiring Improvement

However, other areas require improvement, including:

  • Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
  • Powers of supervisors (R.27)

Unimplemented Recommendations

The report notes that Fiji has not fully implemented several recommendations, including:

  • Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)
  • International instruments (R.36)
  • Financial institution secrecy laws (R.9) have been criticized for being too broad.

Compliance Status

Fiji has been found:

  • Compliant in 5 areas:
    • New technologies (R.15)
    • Wire transfers (R.16)
    • Reliance on third parties (R.17)
    • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements (R.25)
    • Statistics (R.33)
  • Largely compliant in 14 areas, including:
    • Regulation and supervision of financial institutions (R.26)
    • Law enforcement and investigative authorities (R.31)
  • Non-compliant in several key areas, including:
    • Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation (R.7)
    • Correspondent banking (R.13)
    • Money or value transfer services (R.14)
    • Cash couriers (R.32)
  • Partially compliant in 20 areas, including:
    • Reporting of suspicious transactions (R.20)
    • DNFBPs: other measures (R.23)

Implications

The report’s findings are likely to raise concerns among international bodies and financial institutions, which may impact Fiji’s ability to conduct business with foreign partners and access international financing.

Next Steps

Fiji has been given a deadline to address the outstanding issues and implement the remaining recommendations. The country’s anti-money laundering efforts will be closely monitored in the coming years to ensure compliance with international standards.