The Asia/Pacific Group of Money Laundering (APG) will support Vietnam in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.

This is the result of working sessions between a high-level delegation of the APG and representatives of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in Hanoi in early February.

APG specialists also worked with representatives from the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inquire into the Vietnamese policy of fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.

APG specialists acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts in criminalising money laundering and issuing circulars on anti-money laundering.

They recommended that Vietnam issue laws on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism, freeze funds that are used to sponsor terrorist activities, increase international cooperation and reconsider the extradition of criminals while ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention).

They pledged to consider Vietnam’s need for technical assistance and seek sponsors to support the country in the fight.

Vietnam is currently under monitoring by the International Cooperation Review Group of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in relation to its progress in fully implementing the international standards against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Nguyen Van Phuong, vice chairman of the Government Office, reaffirmed Vietnam’s strong commitment to the international standards and said he is looking forward to the outcomes of the next FATF Plenary Meeting in Paris on February 13, 2012.

Vietnam joined the APG in May 2007 and was evaluated by an expert assessment team under APG rules in 2008.

Source: VOV