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| Draft circular amending Circular 09 of 2023 is expected to remove the country from the FATF’s Grey List__Photo: VNA |
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has released a draft circular amending Circular 09 of 2023, guiding the implementation of the 2022 Law on Anti-Money Laundering (AML), aiming at strengthening Vietnam’s legal framework to align with international standards, particularly those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The move also aims to fulfill Vietnam’s commitments under the National Action Plan on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, with the strategic objective of removing the country from the FATF’s Grey List, according to the SBV.
Nguyen Thi Minh Tho, Deputy Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department under the Banking Supervision Agency, said the amended circular focuses on several key areas, including: criteria and methods for assessing money laundering risks; risk management processes and customer risk classification; internal anti-money laundering regulations; reporting mechanisms for suspicious and large-value transactions; electronic fund transfers; and formats and deadlines for submitting electronic data reports.
One significant change is the addition of Article 3.6, which mandates reporting entities to submit risk assessment and update reports using a standardized template issued by the SBV. Circular 09 requires risk assessments but does not to provide a specific format, making it difficult for regulators to evaluate and compare submissions.
Tho said the SBV has received proposals from financial institutions calling for a unified format to ensure consistency and transparency in implementation.
Besides, the draft also revises Article 4.1 to clarify that money laundering risk management procedures must be approved by the highest level of management within financial institutions or designated non-financial businesses and professions. This revision aligns with FATF recommendations and aims to strengthen accountability and oversight by senior leadership.
The draft requires financial institutions to establish separate procedures for risk-based customer due diligence. This provides a clear legal foundation for classifying customers by risk level, supporting more effective monitoring and prevention of money laundering. It also serves as a basis for the SBV to assess the compliance of credit institutions during inspections and audits.
Noteworthily, Article 4.3 is revised to prohibit the application of simplified customer identification measures when detecting signs of money laundering, terrorist financing, or other high-risk scenarios. This revision aligns with FATF’s Recommendation 10.18 and aims to close potential legal loopholes in the identification and reporting of suspicious activities.
The draft also revises Clauses 1, 3, and 9 of Article 5, which govern internal anti-money laundering regulations, aiming to address shortcomings identified in FATF Recommendation 10 and Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) assessment.
FATF Recommendations 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4 highlight that current customer identification requirements for occasional transactions at or above the reporting threshold remain vague—particularly in cases involving multiple transactions that appear connected but do not individually raise suspicion. The APG also noted uncertainty about whether such related transactions fall under existing rules.
To address this, the draft introduces the concept of “transactions originating from one or more potentially linked financial institutions.” This aims to prevent the splitting up of transactions to avoid detection, requiring such activities are still subject to customer identification. The draft also adds clearer guidelines for cases when customer identification must be performed, helping ensure consistent and practical enforcement.- (VLLF)
