June 2019 FATF Public Statement - Countries or jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies

04 OCT 2019

Pursuant to regulation 7(2)(a)(ii) of the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Regulations 2019 (“PMLTF Regulations”), the Registrar of Regulated Dealers hereby notifies all regulated dealers that the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has issued a Public Statement dated June 2019, in which it has called for:

  • Counter-measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”).
  • Enhanced customer due diligence measures (“ECDD”) against Iran.

Accordingly, under regulation 7(1) of the PMLTF Regulations, regulated dealers must perform ECDD measures if:

  • The customer, or the person on whose behalf the customer is acting, is from or in DPRK or Iran; or
  • The transaction relates to DPRK or Iran.

On 21 June 2019, the FATF, of which Singapore is a member, issued an updated Public Statement that highlights the strategic deficiencies in the anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) regimes of the DPRK and Iran.

  • DPRK is subject to the FATF’s call on countries to apply counter-measures. The FATF calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply counter-measures to protect the international financial system from the ongoing and substantial money laundering and financing of terrorism risks.
  • The FATF calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply ECDD measures proportionate to the risks arising from Iran.

Details of the FATF Statement can be found at: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/public-statement-june-2019.html

The FATF has also issued an updated statement on its on-going process to improve global AML/CFT compliance. This statement provides information on a list of jurisdictions that have commited to action plans to address and strengthen their respective AML/CFT deficiencies, and would assist regulated dealers in their risk assessment and mitigation. The FATF Compliance statement can be found at: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/fatf-compliance-june-2019.html