Local banks should study current regulations and international standards to help themselves map out appropriate internal regulations for the effective deployment of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing methods, Nguyen Van Ngoc, director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) Anti-Money Laundering Department said at a seminar held by the Vietnam Banks’ Association and technology consulting firm Komtech in Ho Chi Minh City on May 8.
In his opinion, effective measures to combat money laundering were essential to Vietnamese commercial banks in international operation and these banks should mitigate business risks and secure their reputations by strictly implementing the Government’s regulations on the prevention and combat of money laundering and terrorism financing.
In reality, most banks have issued their own anti-money laundering regulations in line with Government Decree No. 74/2005/ND-CP dated June 7, 2005. However, they should update their regulations to be consistent with the 2012 Anti-Money Laundering Law (effective as of January 1, 2013) and Government Decree No. 116/2013/ND-CP dated October 4, 2013, guiding the Law.
In addition, banks should improve training for their staff, especially those who work directly with customers, to improve their awareness about anti-money laundering issues and enhance their ability to detect suspicious transactions involved in money laundering and terrorism financing. Updating customer information is also an important step to detect money laundering-related behavior.
Ngoc said banks should select appropriate information technology solutions to filter and analyze transactions and help identify those on black lists and money-laundering risks.
It is a law-prescribed obligation of banks to make daily reports on transactions of large value equal or greater than VND 300 million (USD 14,285) to the SBV.
