The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has held an extensive workshop to familiarise bankers and officials with trade-based money laundering (TBML) and anti-money laundering (AML) concepts.

The 3-day workshop was attended by 40 representatives from 28 local commercial and international banks and government institutions from 11 countries in the Pacific region.

Traded-based financial crime

Experts from ADB’s Trade Finance Programme (TFP) updated participants on ADB’s customer due diligence processes and environmental and social safeguarding standards.

They also presented case studies to show how trade finance is evolving in the region and globally, examined recent trends in supply chain finance and explained the TFP’s approach to trade-based financial crime.

Addressing money laundering

“TFP addresses money laundering and financing of terrorism in the financial system, while ensuring companies, particularly smaller ones in vulnerable economies such as the Pacific, have access to trade finance,” investment specialist at TFP, Can Sutken, told delegates.

“Stopping crime in the financial system while prudently financing small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries is a big challenge. There is room to improve efforts on both fronts: stopping financial crime and closing market gaps. This two-pronged effort is at the heart of TFP’s initiatives on AML,” he concluded.