April 29, 2020
Draft law reviewed to curb money laundering

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday held a meeting to review a draft law on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) in a bid to curb money laundering in the Kingdom. The move is motivated by the global money-laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s decision in February last year to place Cambodia on its grey list.

“The lack of such laws was why Cambodia was placed on the grey list as it makes the country seem risky. It also makes investors apprehensive about investing in the country, which, in turn, impacts the economy,” said Mr Kheng in a Facebook post on Tuesday. He added if the lack of such laws is not amended, the country could be placed on the blacklist.

The draft law, said Mr Kheng, is designed to respond to social developments and comply with international standards that require Cambodia to have specific mechanisms. He added the draft will be finished soon and will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers for approval.

Interior Ministry spokesman General Khieu Sopheak yesterday declined to comment as he was not present in the meeting.

However, Finance Ministry spokesman Meas Soksensan said yesterday: “The ministry is actively partaking in fighting money laundering and making efforts to see the removal of Cambodia from the grey list. It will be a great cause of concern if we were blacklisted as it could lead to the blocking of bank transactions.”

Pech Pisey, Executive Director of Transparency International, yesterday expressed his disappointment with Cambodia being on the grey list, saying it signals the country’s high vulnerability to money laundering.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50718096/d ... aundering/

It must be hard thirsty work drafting laws that make everything look legit while ensuring nothing actually changes.

It also makes investors apprehensive about investing in the country

I think any investor would be wise to keep a close eye on a new shiny AML law to be implemented by people who have an interest in keeping, or at the very least holding to ransom, money be moved into and around the banking system. These laws are all well and good in countries with proper legal systems and fair and transparent rights of appeal and where honesty is the norm, not the exception, from banking and government institutions. That is not Cambodia.

Laws to capture the proceeds of crime are a good idea in normal countries and part of a full suite of law enforcement agencies. It is dangerous in a country where corruption and graft are the norm. Giving officials new powers to seize money and demand of the owner an impossible list of compliance requirements (just for example), is asking for trouble. Of course, all these compliance requirements (much like all the marriage requirements) can be waived for an appropriate fee to the right people, all the while with the threat of forfeiture looming large.

Doc67 wrote: ↑Fri May 01, 2020 9:50 pmThese laws are all well and good in countries with proper legal systems and fair and transparent rights of appeal and where honesty is the norm, not the exception, from banking and government institutions. That is not Cambodia.

what countries r u thinking of?

fazur wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 8:00 am

Doc67 wrote: ↑Fri May 01, 2020 9:50 pmThese laws are all well and good in countries with proper legal systems and fair and transparent rights of appeal and where honesty is the norm, not the exception, from banking and government institutions. That is not Cambodia.

what countries r u thinking of?

The UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Denmark, NORWAY, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.... it's a long list and includes many countries. Countries with one Prime Minister for 35 years and winning the latest election 125 - 0 is a big red flag along with countries with rulers in military uniforms.

ok lets start with only the first country u mentioned.

https://corporate-responsibility.org/ne ... ts-abuses/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50924704

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 21756.html

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... up-attempt



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ourt-hears

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/no ... istan-iraq

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence

exactly what is is your definition of honesty?

Cambodia armed with money laundering laws
Niem Chheng | Publication date 02 July 2020 | 21:59 ICT
Money laundering will now carry a penalty of up to five years in prison while those convicted of financing terrorists will be jailed for up to 20 years, according to new laws promulgated by King Norodom Sihamoni and seen by The Post on Thursday.

Comprising nine chapters and 47 articles, the laws aim to eliminate money laundering and terrorist financing in Cambodia.

The laws require reporting entities including banks, financial establishments, investment companies, money transfer services, real estate agents, casinos, NGOs and relevant services and businesses to regulate their activities and store detailed information about their clients.

Article 12 requires the reporting of cash transactions over a certain threshold and transactions flagged by the Cambodian Financial Intelligence Unit (CAFIU).

If suspicious cash transactions involve terrorist financing, they have to be reported within 24 hours.

Article 30 of the law states: “The government had to prepare measures to curtail cash use in commercial transactions and encourage making non-cash payments.”

Penalties for disobeying the new laws could include warnings, fines, business licence revocations and the removal of officials or business managers from their positions.

Article 38 stipulates that money laundering crimes carry a prison sentence of between two and five years and a fine of 100 million to 500 million riel ($25,000 to $50,000) in addition to penalties stipulated in the Criminal Code. Legal entities could be fined up to one billion riel.

Article 39 states that legal and individual entities that fail to report transactions as prescribed by the law will be fined and jailed for up to one month.

Article 44 states that terrorist financing crimes carry a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years. Anyone who knowingly engages in offering property, funds or other services to entities involved with terrorism is liable to be prosecuted.

On May 7, the EU requested its parliament to add Cambodia and 11 other countries to a list of states that “pose significant threats” to the EU’s financial systems for failures to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing.

In February last year, Cambodia was also re-listed in the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a decision Cambodia said was “unfair”.

Transparency International Cambodia executive director Pech Pisey said on Thursday that the adoption of the law on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing is a welcome step in the right direction for Cambodia.

He encouraged the government and relevant authorities to enforce the law effectively and comply with anti-money laundering obligations. He said it should perform its due diligence by properly checking on customers and investments and keep records of suspicious activities.

“I also see the need for enhancing the competency of the CAFIU and relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing offences.
Full article: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... TYXxwMii5g

I very much prefer the banking environment here to the one described here:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/us/b ... index.html

Kingdom wants off ‘grey list’
Voun Dara | Publication date 06 March 2022 | 20:50 ICT
Minister of Justice Koeut Rith led a meeting of an ad-hoc sub-commission to implement an action plan devised by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

It is hoped that the plan will solve the remaining issues the Kingdom faces and result in a positive evaluation in the ninth round of progress reports by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). A positive result should see Cambodia moved off FATF’s money laundering “grey list”.

The meeting was held on March 3 with the minister leading a review and discussing the progress of working groups which were focussed on implementing “Immediate Outcomes” 6, or IO.6, on Financial Intelligence, IO.11 on proliferation of financial sanctions, and IO.7 and 8, which involve investigation, prosecution and confiscation in money-laundering crimes.

The minister called on each working group to identify specific challenges it may face.
“The ad-hoc sub-commission will continue its work until Cambodia is lifted off the grey list,” he added.

Cambodia was relisted in the “grey list” of the FATF in February 2019, a decision that Cambodian officials called “unfair”. The Kingdom had previously met all of the necessary requirements and been removed from the list in 2015.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -grey-list

This may be the reason ABA is suddenly becoming very picky about incoming remittances and in particular the source being explicitly named in the correct box and not just the bank, TransferWise in my case.