Speeches

Keynote Address by DAG Hri Kumar Nair, S.C. at the 37th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime

The Financial Action Task Force was started in 1989 by the G7 Summit to combat money laundering. It had 16 members then. Today it has 39. In 30 years the FATF has achieved much. However, it is timely to consider whether it continues to be relevant, and how it can better achieve its objectives. These questions need to be examined in the context of today’s environment. We now live in a far more complex and inter-connected world. Technological advancements enable communications to take place instantly, and commercial transactions are conducted across the world in a matter of minutes. Hundreds of millions of dollars are moved across international boundaries at the click of a button. We are all conscious that economic crime is a multi-faceted problem that transcends geographical boundaries. The risks of money-laundering and terrorism financing have increased exponentially over time.

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