Nepal’s evaluation report to be discussed in APG 14th annual meeting

Nepal is going to get its strategies to fight inflow of dirty money evaluated by this week end.
The annual meeting of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) that is going to be held in India on July 18-22 will take stock of onsite visit report of Nepal and evaluation report before passing it by the annual general meeting.
"However, there are also some chances of putting conditions by the annual meeting to pass the report,” according to the source, who is going to take part in the APG annual meeting that meets on a regular basis, generally twice a year.
The APG has two regular meetings – Annual Meeting and Annual Typologies Workshop.
July 18 is set aside for working group meetings, including the Typologies Working Group, Implementation Issues Working Group, APG Steering Group and marginal mutual evaluation meetings. There may also be technical seminars on specific issues of concern and the core business of the plenary will take place during the rest of the week, according to the APG that is an autonomous and collaborative international organisation founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand consisting of 40 members and a number of international and regional observers.
The 40 member countries including Nepal and 25 observers will take part in the 14th APG Annual Meeting. Nepal's team will include central bank deputy governor, representatives from Ministry of Law, and Finance ministries.
Earlier on July 2010, the 13th Annual Meeting was held in Singapore. Nepal was evaluated in the APG's first round of evaluations in 2005 and in the second round in 2010.
Nepal is developing its anti-money and combating the financing of terrorism laundering system. The country has amended Anti-Money Laundering Act and has established an FIU, apart from ratifying two key UN Conventions to fight against the flow of dirty money.
The purpose of this Annual Meeting is to discuss the APG's strategic direction and work programme, including the structure and operation of the APG – including its Terms of Reference, planning issues and budget; a number of mutual evaluation reports of APG members; implementation issues facing APG members; technical assistance and training issues for APG members in coordination with donor organisations and jurisdictions; emerging and evolving money laundering and terrorist financing methods as well as counter-measures; and special issues and developments of significance to members and observers.
Although estimating the amount of worldwide money laundering is problematic, the International Monetary Fund has estimated that between two per cent and five per cent of global GDP per year is generated annually as the proceeds of crime -- in US funds that is an amount in the trillions of dollars -- the largest sources of which are illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, arms and people smuggling, corruption, fraud, extortion, kidnapping and theft.
Some of the key international organisations who participate with, and support, the efforts of the APG in the region include the Financial Action Task Force, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, OECD, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Asian Development Bank and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
Nepal became a member of the APG in June 2002.Certain key determinates affect the pace of implementation of Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards. Gaining, maintaining and sustaining political will among APG members is the primary determining factor, which is linked to the levels of AML/CFT awareness, understanding and trust.
Implementation can be negatively affected in a ‘non supporting’ environment – an APG member may resist external pressure because it is perceived to be contrary to prevailing political and economic objectives.
The nature of the economy and level of development is another determinant that affects core frameworks, institutional capacity and reliance on external assistance, which may in turn influence policy priorities and resource allocation.
Closely related is overall governance and institutional development including the nature, capacity and pace of legislative processes, and associated institutional capability and capacity that affects implementation, even if political will is present.Lastly, corruption – political and institutional – may affect a jurisdiction's willingness to conduct and accept risk and other assessments. It can impede effective implementation and undermines trust in AML/CTF systems and institutions.
The APG members and observers are committed to the effective implementation and enforcement of internationally accepted standards against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, in particular the Forty Recommendations and Nine Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF).
The APG also assists its members to establish coordinated domestic systems for reporting and investigating suspicious transaction reports and to develop effective capacities to investigate and prosecute money laundering and the financing of terrorism offences.

The Function of APG
KATHMANDU: The APG has five important functions:
* To assess compliance by APG members with the global AML/CFT standards through a robust mutual evaluation programme.
* To coordinate bi-lateral and donor-agency technical assistance and training in the Asia/Pacific region in order to improve compliance by APG members with the global AML/CFT standards.
* To participate in, and co-operate with, the international anti-money laundering network - primarily with the FATF and with other regional anti-money laundering groups.
* To conduct research and analysis into money laundering and terrorist financing trends and methods to better inform APG members of systemic and other associated risks and vulnerabilities.