FIU Attends APG Annual Meeting: Emphasizes Strengthening International Cooperation to Block Illicit Funds

Introduction of Payment Suspension System to Counter No-Show Fraud
Discussion on Cooperation in the 5th FATF Mutual Evaluation

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission announced on August 2 that it attended the annual meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), held in Brunei Darussalam, where it emphasized the importance of international cooperation and public-private partnerships for the early detection and prevention of illicit funds.

The meeting, which took place from July 27 to 31, was attended by delegations from 41 APG member countries, as well as about 350 representatives from observer organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Member countries shared the patterns and severity of fraud crimes, such as cyber scams, and agreed that the globalization of crime and increasingly sophisticated financial crime methods have heightened the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. They concluded that international cooperation is essential to address these challenges.

The Korean delegation explained the payment suspension system currently being implemented to combat newly emerging scam crimes, such as the rapidly spreading no-show fraud in Korea, emphasizing the importance of cutting off the flow of illicit funds at an early stage. They also stressed that this system aligns with the recently revised recommendations of the FATF (Recommendation 4: Confiscation and provisional measures).

Member countries agreed on the necessity of enhancing international cooperation through rapid information sharing and investigative collaboration to counter major threats in the Asia-Pacific region, such as cross-border organized crime, illegal funding of crime groups through human trafficking, and organized cyber scam crimes. Expanding technical support to member countries with relatively weaker systems and capabilities was also discussed as a key area for cooperation.

In addition, member countries that recently completed the 5th FATF mutual evaluation shared their evaluation experiences and highlighted the importance of legislative improvements and international cooperation to demonstrate the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems, using related statistics and case studies.

Ha Jusik, Director of System Operation Planning at the FIU, stated, "International cooperation is essential for early action against illicit funds and maximizing the confiscation of criminal proceeds, which has been continuously emphasized at FATF General Meetings." He added, "Rapid information sharing and ongoing dialogue with the private sector, such as financial companies, through public-private partnerships (PPPs), can significantly contribute to the early detection and prevention of illicit fund flows."

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