At the US-India Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Dialogue in New Delhi, India and the US discussed ways to tackle illicit finance risk and money laundering in the global financing system.
On Wednesday, Sanjay Malhotra, Revenue Secretary at India’s Ministry of Finance, and Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, reconvened and co-chaired the dialogue held by the Indian Ministry of Finance.
Tackling Terror Financing
At the dialogue, they discussed current challenges countries face with regard to sanctions implementation, as well as chances to strengthen collaboration and information exchange to more effectively tackle sanctions evasion and financing of terrorism both locally and internationally.
The participants talked about the initiatives being taken by each nation to increase beneficial ownership transparency, such as the creation of beneficial ownership registries, instruments to enhance data quality, and information verification.
In a joint statement, the co-chairs said, 'Reconvening the India-US AML/CFT Dialogue reaffirms the commitment of India and the United States to work jointly to address illicit finance risk in the international financial system' | @tweettokarishma https://t.co/INm1odxtl9
— Business Today (@business_today) December 14, 2023
The dialogue is a useful platform for exchanging ideas and best practices between the US and India about how to improve the joint efforts of both countries to reduce the danger of illicit finance in their national economies and the global financial system.
“This is a crucial step in combating money laundering and other financial crimes, as it allows authorities to track the flow of funds and identify those who are ultimately responsible for them,” the joint statement read.
Improve Cooperation in FATF, Illicit Financing
The two sides identified areas in AML/CFT where India and the US can jointly work together and share experiences and best practices.
India and the US also decided to keep advancing their aims and finding new areas of cooperation through continued technical-level conversations leading up to the dialogue next year.
Additionally, they decided to look for ways to improve bilateral and multilateral coordination and cooperation, including cooperating within the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
“Reconvening and co-chairing the India-US AML/CFT Dialogue reaffirms the commitment of India and the US to work jointly to address illicit finance risk in the international financial system,” the statement said.
Anti-Money Laundering Standards for Virtual Assets
The two sides also discussed their experience with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, given that both parties prioritise encouraging responsible innovation while reducing the dangers associated with illicit financing.
“Both parties recognised the pressing need to accelerate global implementation of AML/CFT standards for virtual assets, in line with the FATF Recommendations, to effectively addressing the issue of regulatory arbitrage,” the joint statement mentioned.