Topic 10

27.1 There should be designated law enforcement authorities that have responsibility for ensuring that ML and FT offences are properly investigated.

27.2 Countries should consider taking measures, whether legislative or otherwise, that allow competent authorities investigating ML cases to postpone or waive the arrest of suspected persons and/or the seizure of the money for the purpose of identifying persons involved in such activities or for evidence gathering.

29.1 Supervisors should have adequate powers to monitor and ensure compliance by financial institutions, with requirements to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, consistent with the FATF Recommendations.

29.2 Supervisors should have the authority to conduct inspections of financial institutions, including onsite inspections, to ensure compliance. Such inspections should include the review of policies, procedures, books and records.

29.3 Supervisors should have the power to compel production of or to obtain access to all records, documents or information relevant to monitoring compliance. This includes all documents or information related to business relationships to detect unusual or suspicious transactions.

29.3.1 The supervisor‘s power to compel production of or to obtain access for supervisory purposes should not be predicated on the need to require a court order.

30.1 FIUs, law enforcement and prosecution agencies, supervisors and other competent authorities involved in combating money laundering and terrorist financing should be adequately structured, funded, staffed, and provided with sufficient technical and other resources to fully and effectively perform their functions. Adequate structuring includes the need for sufficient operational independence and autonomy to ensure freedom from undue influence or interference.

30.2 Staff of competent authorities should be required to maintain high professional standards, including standards concerning confidentiality, and should be of high integrity and be appropriately skilled.

30.3 Staff of competent authorities should be provided with adequate and relevant training for combating ML and FT.

Examples of issues to be covered under adequate and relevant training include: the scope of predicate offences, ML and FT typologies, techniques to investigate and prosecute these offences, techniques for tracing property that is the proceeds of crime or is to be used to finance terrorism, and ensuring that such property is seized, frozen and confiscated, and the techniques to be used by supervisors to ensure that financial institutions are complying with their obligations; the use of information technology and other resources relevant to the execution of their functions. Countries could also provide special training and/or certification for financial investigators for, inter alia, investigations of ML, FT, and the predicate offences.

33.1 Countries should take measures to prevent the unlawful use of legal persons in relation to ML and FT by ensuring that their laws require adequate transparency concerning the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons.

33.2 Competent authorities should be able to obtain or have access in a timely manner to adequate, accurate and current information on the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons.

33.3 Countries that have legal persons able to issue bearer shares should take appropriate measures to ensure that they are not misused for money laundering.

The measures to be taken may vary from country to country, but each country should be able to demonstrate the adequacy and effectiveness of the measures that are applied.