##f plenary meeting in paris. ladies and gentlemen, no later than last week, mauritius has submitted its progress report on the implementation of the action plan to the joint group of the fatf for necessary consideration. our relevant agencies have completed their respective comprehensive plan to implement the fatf action plan as follows : regulatory bodies have adopted risk - based supervision for their respective segments ( io3 and io4 ) ; a beneficial ownership registry has been set up for providing timely access of information to competent authorities ( io5 ) ; law enforcement agencies have embarked on intensive training programme and are conducting parallel complex financial investigations ( io7 ) and competent authorities have conducted outreach on targeted financial sanctions and proliferation ( io10 and io11 ). in this respect, i reiterate as a member of the core group, that we remain fully committed to ensure our full compliance and effectiveness towards all the fatf standards. 5 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches ladies and gentlemen, while we have been focused on the implementation of the fatf action plan over the recent months, we cannot ignore the consequences and threats that the covid - 19 pandemic has brought in its wake, not only socio - economic upheavals, but also exposed new and emerging financial risks. the fatf has cautioned financial institutions to remain vigilant as criminals were seen to be taking advantage of the pandemic to carry out financial fraud and exploitation scams. these scams included advertising and trafficking in counterfeit medicines, offering fraudulent investment opportunities, engaging in phishing schemes that prey on virus - related fears, malicious or fraudulent cybercrimes, fundraising by fake charities, and insider trading, to state merely a few. the fatf further laid emphasis on that, i quote, “ criminals and terrorists may seek to exploit gaps and weaknesses in national anti - money laundering / counter - financing of terrorism ( aml / cft ) systems while they assume resources are focused elsewhere making risk - based supervision and enforcement activity more critical than ever. financial institutions and other businesses should remain vigilant to emerging ml and tf risks and ensure that they continue to effectively mitigate these risks and are able to detect and report suspicious activity ” unquote. the pandemic has also been a change in the payment habits with an increase in the use of mobile, electronic, digital and contactless payments. such a behaviour converges towards our initiative to promote the digitalization of the banking sector, in line with our common vision for the

harvesh seegolam : latest developments in the anti - money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism landscape in mauritius speech by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the launch of the workshop for money laundering reporting officers, organised by the bank of mauritius in collaboration with the financial intelligence unit and the financial services commission, port louis, 7 august 2020. * * * his excellency mr keith allan, british high commissioner to mauritius, his excellency, mr janesh kain, deputy high commissioner of india to mauritius, first deputy governor and chairman of the financial services commission, second deputy governor, director financial intelligence unit, heads of organisations, representatives of regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies, fellow members of the media, dear delegates, ladies and gentlemen, i wish you all a very good morning. i am pleased to welcome you to the bank of mauritius for this workshop on the latest developments in the anti - money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism landscape in mauritius. this entire workshop has been crafted keeping in mind the cross - sectoral population of money laundering reporting officers ( mlros ). today with us, we have mlros from the banking and non - banking financial services sectors as well as designated non - financial businesses and professions ( dnfbps ). the effective implementation of robust anti - money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism and proliferation measures remains a key priority for all of us. as governor, i have placed the fight against money laundering very high on my agenda. strengthening the regulatory confidence that investors have in mauritius is of paramount importance, more so given our role as a long established international financial centre. as such, we will not make any compromise on this score. non - compliance with the set standards will not be tolerated by the bank and will entail severe sanctions. i have given clear directives so that we collaborate on a permanent basis with the competent domestic and foreign authorities engaged in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing to this end as well. as mlros of your respective institutions, it is extremely important for you to understand the national and international ml / tf risks to enable you to perform your duties in an effective and efficient manner. the financial intelligence and anti - money laundering regulations 2018 require reporting persons to appoint a mlro to whom an internal suspicion report shall be made. it is also incumbent on the mlro to make suspicious transaction reports to the respective competent authority, 1 / 7