Commitment on fighting against dirty money slow-paced

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — a global anti-money laundering agency — has been worried on Nepal's slow progress on complying with its commitments.
According to deputy governor of the central bank Maha Prasad Adhikari, the regional face-to-face meeting last week was encouraging, but the agency has shown concern on delay in complying with commitments that Nepal had made.
“Nepal has been able to extend the time-frame on several aspects," he said, adding that the meet approved Nepal’s request on extending time frame of strengthening of Financial Information Unit (FIU) till 2013 June, apart time extension for Department of Money Laundering Investigation’s up gradation.
The meeting accepted Nepal’s request to extend the time frame in line with the five year strategy that is currently in the cabinet, he added.
However, it could not extend the time frame for Mutual Legal Assistance Bill and Extradition Bill that should have been passed by 2010, according to Nepal’s commitment. But the parliament has ratified two keys UN Conventions — despite political transition to check the flow of dirty money according to Nepal’s commitment — International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism-1999 and UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime in June.
“Nepal will comply with the remaining key commitments too,” said Adhikari, who took part in the meeting along with Department of Money Laundering Investigation director general Khum Raj Punjali, FIU under central bank and Finance Ministry officials.
Slow progress, operational level weakness, weakness in detailed report and private sector's opposition on Anti Money Laundering (AML) might have made the committee suspicious on Nepal's intention but the country is committed on fighting against the inflow of dirty money. But the private sector has reservations on the Nepali translation of the name of Anti Money Laundering Act only not with the Act itself.
The final decision will be taken by the next FATF Plenary and Working Group Meetings scheduled for October 24-28 in Paris, France and last week's fact finding committee that broadly discussed on July's report will forward Nepal's progress report to the FATF plenary.
Nepal will take part as one of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) members in the FATF Plenary in Paris in October as it is not an independent member of FATF.
The Paris plenary will discuss on consideration of policy issues relating to the current review of the FATF standards; matters relevant to the fourth round of evaluations (commencing after 2012); and international cooperation issues with respect to a number of countries — including some APG members — and determining the way forward for jurisdictions that have strategic and other deficiencies in their domestic AML/CFT frameworks.
In July last the 14th annual meeting of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has approved Nepal’s mutual evaluation report in implementing international standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Of the total 40 plus nine compliance of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Nepal still has fulfilled four of the recommendations.Although estimating the amount of worldwide money laundering is problematic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.