28 Jul 2010

Tonga playing its part to combat international money crime

1:13 pm on 28 July 2010

The Governor of Tonga's central bank, Siosi Mafi, says the country has made signficant progress combatting money laundering and terrorist financing.

This follows the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering adopting Tonga's first mutual evaluation report on how it will counter money laundering and terrorist financing.

The mutual evaluation report is the work of a team of five from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the Asia Pacific Group secretariat, who were in Tonga for two weeks late last year.

It aims to ensure member countries enact laws and establish institutions to effectively protect against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Each country needs to comply with 40 recommendations and 9 special recommendations established by the Financial Action Task Force.

Ms Mafi says Tonga has now been formally measured against internationally accepted standards, and is recognised as part of the network fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.