India to appoint experts in Maldives to work on financial crime, money laundering

India has decided to appoint experts in the Maldives to work on financial crime and money laundering matters, officials said Wednesday.

The officers, who would be deputed in the island nation for an initial period of one year, would prepare strategies to establish close coordination between agencies, both local and international, working on law enforcement, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering activities, they said, citing an official order.

These officers would suggest methods to access operational support from Interpol, the London metropolitan police and the FBI among others, they said.

A panel of eligible officials is being finalised by the Centre to look into financial crime, fraud investigation, money laundering and preventing corruption, they said.

The experts will do informal analysis from internal and external data resources, social media and open source information and develop relevant new data sources, they said.

They would also assist investigations on complex cases by conducting in-depth analysis and preparing link charts and other tools used in such investigations, the officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the Maldives early next month.

Citing eligibility criteria for the posting, the order said the expert is expected to possess analytical expertise in identifying corruption, by screening and identifying information in emails, documents and photos related to sources and utilisation of funds within an organisation, embezzlement, money laundering, tax evasion and asset search.

The expert should also be versed in anti-money laundering and counter financing or terrorism laws, United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and inter-American Convention against corruption and similar organisations from the region, it said.

It is not for the first time that Indian officers are being appointed on deputation in foreign countries.

India had earlier appointed officers in Mauritius and Singapore in order to intensify its effort in checking money laundering and tax evasion, the officials said.