Training on money laundering
Standard Chartered Bank conducted a program on International Trends
on Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) and Money Laundering for industry
experts to counteract a globally recognized threat, not only to the
banking sector but to a country’s economy as a whole.
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Members at the seminar |
The interactive session, which featured live examples and case
studies, was delivered by the Bank’s Head of Compliance Training for
India and South Asia P. Ananthakrishnan. During the session, he stressed
the importance of a banker’s vigilance which is pivotal in supporting
FIU and other law enforcements authorities in fighting this menace.
The training session provided an outline on the various modes of
money laundering and offered useful and important tips on how to
identify suspicious activity.
Ananthakrishnan highlighted the importance of building relationships
with customers and enhancing the knowledge about customers which is
vital to safeguard both the bank and its customers from suspicious
financial transactions. In addition to many case studies, he shared some
of Standard Chartered Bank’s best practices which has helped the bank
detect and curb such activity.
He also shed light on new sectors that have fallen prey to suspicious
activity and stressed the importance of looking beyond the obvious in
terms of transactions as well as sectors affected by the problem.
Nearly 55 legal and compliance professionals representing local and
foreign banks, the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of
Sri Lanka, Insurance companies and other financial institutions attended
the session. Speaking to participants Ananthakrishnan said, “Money
laundering refers to the proceeds of crime that are run through the
financial system to disguise their illegal origins and make them appear
to be legitimate funds.
Most often associated with organized crime, money laundering can be
linked to any crime that generates significant proceeds.
With the evolution of financial markets, money laundering today has
become increasingly evident in the financial industry.
Sectors and areas such as casino and gaming, securities transactions,
real estate, gem and jewellery, money transfer business, internet
payment systems and tax havens are found to be more susceptible to money
laundering”.
While technology in the form of systems which filter ‘unusual’
transactions and suspect names has definitely helped spot suspicious
activity, it is important for industry to focus on anti-money laundering
training aimed at sharpening the skills of business managers so as to
quickly detect a suspicious activity or transaction that could otherwise
go unnoticed.
“It is important to make Suspicious Activity Reporting a mandatory
and a serious control measure rather than a routine reporting exercise,”
he further added.
Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each
year for the amount of money laundered, either worldwide or within their
national economy.
According to the International Monetary Fund, a frequently cited
figure is 2% to 5% of the global economy. |
