Call for Action in Accordance with October 2020 FATF Statement

28 OCT 2020

ACTION BY REGULATED DEALERS AGAINST HIGH-RISK JURISDICTIONS

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 statements dated 23 October 2020 on:

  • Counter-measures1 against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”) and Iran; and
  • List of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring.
1Counter-measures should be effective and proportionate to the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing presented by the country concerned. Examples of counter-measures include:
- Limiting business relationships or transactions with the identified country or persons in that country.
- Requiring increased supervisory examination and/or external audit requirements for branches and subsidiaries of entities based in the country concerned.
- Requiring increased external audit requirements for groups with respect to any of their branches and subsidiaries located in the country concerned.

Accordingly, under regulation 7(1) of the PMLTF Regulations, regulated dealers must perform enhanced customer due diligence measures if:

  • The customer, or the person on whose behalf the customer is acting on, is from or in DPRK, Iran or countries identified to have inadequate measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terorrism; or
  • The transaction relates to DPRK, Iran or countries identified to have inadequate measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terorrism.

A summary of the issued FATF statement can be found below.

OCTOBER 2020 FATF STATEMENT: HIGH-RISK JURISDICTIONS SUBJECT TO A CALL FOR ACTION
On 23 October 2020, the FATF, of which Singapore is a member, issued a statement that highlights the strategic deficiencies in the anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes of the DPRK and Iran. While there was a pause in the review process for the list of High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, and the statements may not necessarily reflect the most recent status of both DPRK and Iran, the FATF's call for action on them remains in effect.

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

Full details can be found at:
https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/call-for-action-october-2020.html

OCTOBER 2020 FATF STATEMENT: JURISDICTIONS UNDER INCREASED MONITORING
The FATF has also issued an updated statement in October 2020 on jurisdictions under increased monitoring. This statement provides information on a list of jurisdictions that have committed to action plans to address and strengthen their respective AML/CFT deficiencies. Regulated dealers are expected take the list into consideration when preparing their risk assessment and mitigation plans.

Full details can be found at:
https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/increased-monitoring-october-2020.html