Macao Takes Steps to Prevent Financial Crime, But Areas for Improvement Remain

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released a report evaluating Macao’s progress in implementing measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. While Macao has made significant strides in several areas, there are still some key deficiencies that need to be addressed.

Progress and Challenges

Macao has demonstrated a good understanding of the risks associated with financial crime and has implemented a range of policies and procedures to mitigate them. However, some areas require improvement, including:

• Customer Due Diligence: Ensuring that customer due diligence procedures are effective in identifying and mitigating money laundering risks.
• Record-Keeping: Enhancing record-keeping requirements to ensure that financial institutions maintain accurate and complete records.
• Regulation and Supervision of Financial Institutions: Strengthening the regulation and supervision of non-profit organizations to prevent them from being used for financial crime.

FATF’s Evaluation of Macao’s Compliance

The FATF has rated Macao’s compliance with its recommendations as follows:

Recommendations for Improvement

The FATF has identified several key recommendations for Macao’s authorities, including:

• Enhance Customer Due Diligence Procedures: Ensure that customer due diligence procedures are effective in identifying and mitigating money laundering risks.
• Improve Record-Keeping Requirements: Enhance record-keeping requirements to ensure that financial institutions maintain accurate and complete records.
• Strengthen Regulation and Supervision of Non-Profit Organizations: Strengthen the regulation and supervision of non-profit organizations to prevent them from being used for financial crime.

Call for Action

The FATF has also called on Macao’s authorities to provide more detailed information about their efforts to combat financial crime, including statistics on suspicious transactions reported by financial institutions.

Response from Macao’s Authorities

Macao’s authorities have welcomed the report and have committed to addressing the areas identified as requiring improvement. They have also expressed their commitment to continuing to work with the FATF and other international partners to prevent financial crime and protect the integrity of the global financial system.