ADB, ACAMS partner to improve anti-money laundering capacities in developing Asia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) are partnering in the pilot rollout of an internationally accredited online training programme to boost anti-money laundering and know-your-client (AML/KYC) capacities of ADB's Trade Finance Programme (TFP) partner banks.

"Enhancing the banking system's ability to detect money laundering and terrorist financing is key to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related to peace, justice, and strong institutions," said ADB's Office of Anti-corruption and Integrity Head John Versantvoort.

"ADB regards the strengthening of governance and institutional capacity of its developing member countries (DMCs) as integral to achieving a more inclusive and sustainable future for Asia and the Pacific," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Backed by ADB's AAA credit rating, TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia and the Pacific to engage in import and export activities.

TFP's objectives related to AML and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) are to enhance the fight against financial crime and narrow the global trade finance gap estimated at 1.5 trillion dollars.

Work in this area includes knowledge-sharing and workshops, policy recommendations, and capacity building programmes for banks and regulators.

These efforts contribute to the 'de-risking' of correspondent bank relationships -- a major issue in many DMCs and especially in the Pacific -- and drive more transparency in the financial system, particularly in trade.

"Providing online training in developing Asia is one way to move the needle towards establishing minimum training qualifications for bank frontliners. We hope that many of them will be certified soon," said ADB's TFP Investment Specialist Nana Khurodze.

The partnership with ACAMS demonstrates ADB's broader capacity building objective of providing banking institutions with more knowledge to support small and medium-sized enterprises towards economic growth and job creation.

"ACAMS is honoured to have this opportunity to partner with ADB to contribute to capacity building of the AML/KYC knowledge of its TFP partner banks," said ACAMS President and Managing Director Rohit Sharma."The focus on AML/CFT and sanctions are to help institutions develop a strong compliance culture to understand risks, evaluate their anti-financial crime framework, and embed the appropriate policies, procedures and controls. This will in turn help these institutions meet international standards and recommendations," he said.

ACAMS is the largest international membership organisation with over 78,000 members located in 175 countries and jurisdictions dedicated to enhancing the knowledge and skills of AML and financial crime professionals from a wide range of industries.