Registration to Trade-Based Money Laundering Webinar by COB 15 March 2021
Your attention is being drawn to the email sent by the FATF Secretariat in relation to a Trade-Based Money Laundering seminar which will be held on the 18 March 2021. Both the public and private sector are invited to attend.
For those who are unfamiliar with the subject kindly note that as defined in a 2006 FATF report TBML, is “the process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimise their illegal origin or finance their activities”. In summary, the primary aim of any TBML scheme is the deliberate movement of illicit proceeds through the exploitation of trade transactions. In doing so, criminals may engage in a range of other potentially unlawful activities, such as preparing false invoices, mischaracterizing goods to circumvent controls, and other customs and tax violations. But the aim of TBML – unlike trade-related predicate offences – is not the movement of goods, but rather the movement of money, which the trade transactions facilitate.
Therefore STRs submitted by DNFBPs, especially by notaries, auditors, and accountants, can be another source of valuable information for FIUs about possible TBML schemes. Based on their professional experience and AML/CFT knowledge, these professions are well- positioned to identify and recognize companies that are used solely to hide the original form of the payment and other complex legal structures established for money laundering activities. STRs focusing on such corporate structures can be of significant value for detecting TBML, since front and shell companies have been identified in a wide range of TBML techniques.
Below please find the agenda and the FATF document dated December 2020 for those who wish further background. This document will be discussed during the webinar.
Kindly note that delegations need to register participants by the 15 March 2021 so kindly send your list of participants who are interested to attend to Dr Pauline Saliba (pauline.b.saliba@ncc.gov.mt) by Friday 12 March 2021 COB.
Click here to download the Agenda
Click here to download the FATF Document
