Passing the necessary laws and subsequently establishing an FIU is only the start of the long and arduous journey of anti money laundering and counter terrorism (AML/CTF) compliance. AML Solutions International has over 15 year’s operational experience working in Australia’s FIU (AUSTRAC), and over 10 years’ experience working in the South East Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa region. We specialise in conducting gap analysis of regional policies, procedures, legislation and stakeholder engagement strategies to develop operational capacity for many Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
Additionally, admission to the Egmont Group of FIUs is a strategic goal for many governments and their FIUs and can be a time consuming challenge for any organisation with conflicting priorities. AML Solutions International is ideally placed to assist in identifying the FIUs priorities and navigating the way forward to Egmont membership.
International Best Practice
AML Solutions International understands the need to develop policies and procedures in line with international best practice as required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Our regional experiences have shown that often the problem for many sovereign nations is; you don’t know what you don’t know, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld.
Fortunately the experienced staff at AML Solutions International know what you don’t know, and have to date assisted a number of sovereign nations build their AML/CFT capacity.
Technical Assistance and Training
In order to develop an effective Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the FIU intelligence and analysis officers must understand the basic principles of money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF). More importantly the FIU must understand how its role and inter-related functions are connected to the broader risks of the countries’ anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) risk management.
The AML/CTF training provided by AML Solutions International is based on many years of combined experience drawn from former operational intelligence officers and investigators. Your staff will receive instruction from real world experiences and case studies, not just the theory and concepts.
FATF Mutual Evaluation Report mitigation & rectification
With the myriad of competing priorities that you manage, the deficiencies identified in your Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) process would be at the top of the list. It is a time consuming and difficult process which reflects directly on your agency and national government on an International stage. Before your next round of MERs are due, contact AML Solutions International to help you prepare.
International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG)
The ICRG exists to publicly identify jurisdictions with a significant number of key deficiencies within their AML/CFT regime. Referral to the ICRG is something governments would prefer to avoid. If your FIU has been referred to the ICRG, we can assist you navigate the complexities and challenges which are specific to the obligations placed upon your FIU.
National Risk Assessment (NRA)
The FATF’s new 40 recommendations lists the risk based approach (RBA) as the number one recommendation. There are a number of excellent organisations that can assist with this large and complex requirement, however AML Solutions International has worked with the RBA for a number of years (due to Australia’s implementation of the RBA to AML/CTF since 2006), and recognises that the solution to an effective NRA can be tailored to suit developing nations.