Money Laundering Schemes Drain Finances, Institutions Fail to Comply
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A recent report has highlighted the significant costs associated with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF) efforts. Financial institutions are spending substantial resources on detecting and reporting suspicious transactions, but many have failed to comply with regulations.
Non-Compliance Leads to Loss of Profits
The report also revealed that a significant number of financial institutions have not only failed to detect or report money laundering but have actively engaged in the illegal activity for profit. This has led to a loss of profits for these institutions as they are forced to turn away profitable business to prevent laundering.
Task Force Agencies Take Action
In response, agencies from the Money Laundering Prevention Task Force are taking steps to enhance their efforts. They will:
- Train staff to understand money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing
- Provide assistance to regulated entities to detect these crimes
- Actively search their own data holdings for indicators of ML/TF/PF and share information with other agencies to facilitate disruption, deterrence, and prevention of these offenses
- Periodically audit the processes and effectiveness of AML/CTF/CPF efforts by financial institutions
Deterrence, Disruption, and Prevention
The task force agencies are emphasizing the need for a genuine perception of risk among offenders and would-be offenders that they will be identified, caught, and punished. To achieve this, they will:
- Engage in activities that highlight the robustness of Samoa’s AML/CTF/CPF systems
- Disrupt efforts may involve prosecution of offenders, confiscation of illicit assets, and other approaches to reduce the harm caused by these crimes
- Review intelligence on offending and consider practical measures to target syndicates and entities involved in ML/TF/PF
Prevention strategies will focus on developing ways to stop others from committing similar offenses, taking into account individual rights, due legal process, human rights, and appropriate legal oversight.
Regular Testing and Cooperation
The task force agencies acknowledge the importance of regularly testing AML/CTF/CPF systems to ensure effectiveness. They will:
- Prioritize known methods of offending that generate or facilitate the greatest volume of laundered/terrorist/proliferation funds
- Share information and personnel freely in formal and informal arrangements to combat profit-driven crime
The focus will be on changing the behavior of facilitators of money laundering rather than individual predicate offenders.
High-Risk Areas
The task force agencies will conduct regular assessments of ML/TF/PF risks and apply resources to known high-risk areas before targeting lower-order risks.