Officials from Executive Yuan agencies, the Ministry of Justice and other ministries yesterday released this year’s report on Taiwan’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
Forty-seven government departments and regulatory agencies, and 27 private-sector organizations, mainly in the financial services sector, were involved in compiling data for the 2021 National Money Laundering, TF (Terrorism Financing), PF (Proliferation Financing) Risk Assessment Report, in compliance with Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) regulations.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) endorsed the findings in the report, which is the second of its kind after the first was published in 2018.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
The huge effort began in March, led by the Executive Yuan’s Anti-Money Laundering Office.
“There were interim evaluations by AGP in past years, in which Taiwan received one of the top ratings in Asia for stemming international money laundering and terrorism financing,” Tsai said. “In the latest APG evaluation this year, Taiwan again finished in the top group in Asia.”
He said that this year’s report, for the first time, looked into the online gambling sector, which has become more popular in recent years, while the other new threats were found in e-gaming and the virtual asset sector — as in cryptocurrencies and virtual currency exchanges.
Other new inclusions were the art auction market, automobile sales and trading, and pawn shops, he said.
Anti-Money Laundering Office Executive Secretary Su Pei-yu (蘇佩鈺) presented the report’s main points.
She said that Taiwan is most vulnerable to 10 forms of criminal activities, with drug trafficking, financial fraud, smuggling, tax evasion and organized crime at the top of the list.
The other five were stock market manipulation or insider trading, unregulated money transfers, illegal online gambling, corruption and bribe-taking by government officials, and infringements on intellectual property rights, Su said.
She said that those at “very high risk” of being targeted by criminal groups for money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing included domestic banks, offshore banking units and the virtual asset sector.
International stock market and securities businesses with offices based in Taiwan, e-gaming companies, foreign banks with branch offices in Taiwan, post offices, domestic securities companies and, accounting firms were rated as “high risk,” she said.
Others rated as “high risk” include gold and jewelry dealers, legal offices, real-estate companies, insurance firms, third-party payment services and agricultural cooperatives that provide financing and loans, as well as the securities investment and trust consulting sector, she said.
Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairperson Hsiao Tsuey-ling (蕭翠玲) said the report would provide useful data for Taiwan’s financial services sector.
“Taiwan’s banks, securities investment and financial service firms, and insurance companies ... can make their own evaluations and monitor those transactions and activities with a high risk of money laundering, or other illegal financing,” Hsiao said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS