Nelson Werner, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Brendlynn Isida Yousefzadelh m Assistant Director represented Palau in meeting which is a gathering of over 340 delegates from around the Asia Pacific region and 12 international and regional organizations.
The meeting is set annually among member countries aimed at sharing knowledge to combat money laundering and terrorists financing.Werner said that the one of the roles of the APG is to assess members’ compliance with the global standards of anti-money laundering.The APG also provides technical assistance and training to member countries.In the meeting, Werner said the APG was updates Palau’s anti-money laundering progress.In Palau, Werner said the government progress when it comes to combating money laundering is a dedicated budget for the FIU and that the country has also been receiving information from financial institution regarding suspicious transactions.To give teeth to anti money laundering and terrorists financing crimes, FIU in close cooperation with the Financial Institution Commission is drafting pieces of legislation for Congress’ consideration.Semdui Decherong, Director of the FIC said Palau through membership with the APG, is provided technical assistance to develop its capacity to prevent and detect money laundering activities in Palau.
