Financial Crime World

Mongolia’s Strides in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: A New Report Reveals Progress

The Asian Pacific Group’s Evaluation of Mongolia’s Measures to Address Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Deficiencies

Asia, May 31, 2023

The Asian Pacific Group (APG) recently published a report, titled the Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) and Follow-up Report (FUR), highlighting Mongolia’s progress in enhancing its measures to address technical compliance deficiencies related to money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF).

Key Findings from the APG Report

This section presents the main findings of the APG report.

Legislative Framework

  • Mongolia has made significant improvements in its technical compliance with FATF Recommendations.

Regulatory and Supervisory Framework

  • Strengthened risk assessment system for ML/TF
  • Improvements in identifying and assessing ML/TF risks
  • Enhanced effectiveness of the risk-based approach
  • Upgraded anti-money laundering and terrorist financing software
  • Established a national central list of sanctioned individuals and entities

Operational Effectiveness

  • International cooperation and information exchange
  • Efficient financial intelligence unit responses
  • Improving the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence

Areas for Improvement

  • Strengthening investigation and prosecution of ML/TF cases
  • Improving the efficiency of financial intelligence unit responses

Significant Improvements in Mongolia’s Technical Compliance

This section discusses the key improvements Mongolia has made since the earlier inspections in 2019.

Risk Assessment System

Mongolia’s risk assessment system for ML/TF has undergone significant improvements.

Customer Due Diligence Procedures

Mongolia has introduced several measures to improve transparency and customer due diligence procedures, including upgrading its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing software and establishing a national central list of sanctioned individuals and entities.

Challenges and Areas for Further Improvement

The report also points out areas where Mongolia needs to focus on for further improvements.

Investigation and Prosecution of ML/TF Cases

The report calls for strengthening the investigation and prosecution of ML/TF cases.

Efficiency of Financial Intelligence Unit Responses

Another recommendation is for enhancing the efficiency of financial intelligence unit responses.

Improving Financial Intelligence Collection, Analysis, and Dissemination

There is also a call for enhancing the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence.

Conclusion

The APG evaluation provides valuable insights into Mongolia’s progress against ML/TF risks and serves as an important tool for policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions in Mongolia. To read the full report, visit the APG website: [https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/mutual-evaluations/Fur-mongolia-2022.html].