The Attorney-General and Minister responsible for Anti-Corruption, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday met with a high-level Nepalese government delegation who are in the country to promote knowledge sharing and to build capacity in relation to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT).

“Fiji ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2008, for which transparency is key. The Fijian Government has initiated a number of reforms to promote transparency including the introduction of the Information Bill and the Code of Conduct Bill in Parliament last year. We are keen to pass on our expertise to other jurisdictions and to learn from them too,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“The Fijian Government is committed to tackling money laundering and has also brought about a number of legal and tax reforms to reduce such criminal activities and to increase compliance and counter the black economy.”

The A-G also emphasised the need to have international compliance.

“The Fijian Government is committed to working with our international partners to ensure compliance with international standards as it makes foreign investment more attractive and improves sustainable growth,” he said.

The Nepalese delegation consisted of 13 senior officials from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Financial Information Unit, Security Board and Insurance Board of Nepal who will be meeting with various government and private sector stakeholders from March 13-15.

The objective of the high-level visit is for the Nepalese officials to gather insight about Fiji’s current AML/CFT framework and implementation practices. The delegates will meet with the relevant Fijian Government agencies including the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit (Fiji FIU), Reserve Bank of Fiji, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Fiji Police Force, Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority and private sector financial institutions.

During their visit, the officials will also be briefed on Fiji’s experience and challenges in the recent mutual evaluation by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering and the National Money Laundering or Financing of Terrorism risk assessment. They will also learn about Fiji’s recent tax reform initiatives, its strong legal framework in relation to compliance and the implementation of Fiji’s AML/CFT laws.

The director of the Fiji FIU, Razim Buksh, is coordinating the visit and said that he was pleased to host such a high-level visit on the AML/CFT framework in collaboration with the respective stakeholders.

Source: DEPTFO News

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