Cambodia Under FATF’s Tight Monitoring Over Weak AML Measures

Cambodia is under the tight monitoring of FATF over weak AML measures. According to Transparency International Cambodia,  the country has work to do in order to come out of the international AML watchdog’s grey list.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently released an update on a number of nations that are part of its “increased monitoring” program, including the Asian casino-friendly nations of the Philippines and Cambodia.

The organization’s Executive Director Pech Pisey stated that “although we have legal principles, the implementation of the law is still limited,” as  areas covering “investigations, arrests and punishment of suspects is still weak.” He also said: “Another weakness is the sharing of secret information related to these crimes with other countries. Generally, we need international cooperation and our Cambodian officials’ capacity is still limited.”

The watchdog stated it had assessed that Cambodia had “substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site visit” to prove that execution of Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) reforms had started and proceeded, and that the “necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future”.

The FATF reported that Cambodia’s legal system had been improved with regard to preventative measures and “conducting outreach to the casino, real estate, and money or value-transfer sectors”. It also said that these efforts warranted “an on-site visit to verify that the implementation of Cambodia’s AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained”.

The Cambodian government has intensified its efforts to outlaw all forms of unlawful gambling, particularly online gambling. The nation has a sizable, legal casino market. According to Secretary General of the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia Ros Phirun, 87 from a total of 171 casino permit applications had ended in renewals as of October 10.

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