MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe body for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT), has today (Friday January 27, 2017) published its Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on the Isle of Man.
The report, compiled following a visit to the Isle of Man by MONEYVAL inspectors in April and May last year, analyses the Island’s level of compliance and effectiveness in relation to the latest international standards on AML/CFT and makes recommendations for the future.
The report’s findings include confirmation of the Island’s very high level of compliance in its AML/CFT legislation, its co-ordination of AML/CFT policies, its understanding of vulnerabilities through its National Risk Assessment (NRA), and its co-operation with other countries.
The report also highlights areas for improvement including the resourcing of financial intelligence gathering and investigations, a point already identified in the Island’s own NRA published last year along with a National Strategy for enhancing AML/CFT measures.
In line with the National Strategy law enforcement issues are already being addressed by developments such as the creation of an independent Financial Intelligence Unit and an Asset Recovery Unit.
Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK commented:
‘As our track record shows, the Isle of Man takes its responsibilities as an international business centre very seriously and we are committed to ensuring our compliance with global standards on AML and CFT.
‘The Isle of Man is one of the first small international finance centres to undergo the Fifth Round Evaluation, which is more comprehensive and demanding than previous evaluations. Taking part in this process is an opportunity to learn and improve from being tested against the latest international standards.
‘The MONEYVAL report is an independent audit which will help the Isle of Man to maintain its adherence to the standards, and so protect our status as a responsible and respected centre for quality business.’
The Chief Minister concluded:
‘In terms of key findings the report largely reinforces the Island’s own National Risk Assessment and National Strategy on AML and CFT. However there is much to consider in this document and Government will be carefully working through its recommendations in conjunction with the business community.’
To monitor progress in making improvements the Isle of Man is in what is known as ‘enhanced follow-up’. This is not unusual after a Fifth Round Evaluation and 86% of countries assessed so far have been placed in this category, including the USA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Singapore, Austria, Hungary and Norway.
The Isle of Man will be reporting back to MONEYVAL in 12 months’ time to confirm that improvements are being delivered.
The Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on the Isle of Man is available on the MONEYVAL website at:
http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/mer-fsrb/Mutual-Evalutaion-Isle-of-Man.pdf
The Isle of Man’s AML/CFT National Risk Assessment and National Strategy.
