PACIFIC AML/CFT Assistance Programme
In 2017 the New Zealand government provided the APG with multi-million dollar grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to address illicit financial flows and improve implementation of AML/CFT standards across the Pacific region. With that funding the APG established a "Pacific AML/CFT Capacity Development Programme" (PACD) to deliver the following outcomes:
- more compliant AML/CFT laws and regulations;
- effective regulation and supervision of financial and non-financial institutions;
- greater law enforcement and prosecutorial capacity to respond to financial crime and to recover the proceeds of crime.
To ensure effective coordination, the Secretariat:
- actively supports regional organisations (such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police, Oceania Customs Organisation, Asian Development Bank, and many more);
- undertakes regular information exchanges with donors and providers active in the Pacific;
- disseminates quarterly updates; and
- maintains an up-to-date TA implementation plan for each APG Pacific member.
This New Zealand funded programme is an acknowledgement by New Zealand, and the wider APG membership which approved the initiative, of the importance of Pacific island jurisdictions in the global fight against serious financial crime including money laundering and terrorist financing, and the importance of the Pacific region in ensuring security and international financial integrity.