Financial Crime World

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Financial Crime Prevention in Fintech: Solomon Islands Falls Short

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The Solomon Islands has made significant strides in implementing financial crime prevention measures, but still lags behind in several areas, according to a recent Mutual Evaluation report.

Assessment of Compliance

The report, which assesses the country’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, found that while the Solomon Islands has made progress in some areas, it remains partially compliant or non-compliant in many others.

Risk Assessment and Approach

Partially Compliant

In terms of assessing risk and applying a risk-based approach, the Solomon Islands was deemed partially compliant. However, it fell short in other key areas, including:

  • National cooperation and coordination
  • Confiscation and provisional measures
  • Powers of supervisors

Combating Terrorist Financing

Shortcomings Identified

The report also highlighted shortcomings in the country’s efforts to combat terrorist financing, particularly with regards to targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing.

Areas for Improvement

Non-Compliance

In addition, the Solomon Islands was found to be non-compliant in several areas, including:

  • Financial institution secrecy laws
  • Reporting of suspicious transactions
  • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons

Next Steps

The report noted that while there have been some positive developments in recent years, more needs to be done to strengthen the country’s financial crime prevention framework.

Government Reforms

Pledges to Improve AML/CFT Regime

To address these shortfalls, the Solomon Islands government has pledged to implement a range of reforms aimed at improving its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.