and tf threats undermine the confidence and stability of financial systems. there are also high social and political costs. 7. this is why at national levels, many countries including singapore have taken holistic measures to address ml / tf risks. besides a multitude of actions relating to laws, regulations, penalties and public awareness, specific tools also include the ability of regulators and law enforcement authorities to carry out risk surveillance, investigation and information exchanges. a number of international organisations and groupings, including the financial action task force ( fatf ), imf, g20, oecd ’ s global forum on tax, the egmont group etc. have also co - ordinated international efforts to tackle the problem in a comprehensive manner. this is essential given the trans - national nature of the threats. 8. the fatf – which is the international standard setting body – has also sought to develop more guidance relating to various sectors and entities. many of you will be familiar with the fatf recommendations on money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. in 2012, 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the fatf enhanced its recommendations to put emphasis on effectiveness. that is, merely having rules in place is not enough. fatf also developed a more systematic framework for peer reviews. 9. let me turn to developments in singapore. 10. we have a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework, in line with global standards. we will continue to enhance our anti - money laundering ( aml ) and countering the financing of terrorism ( cft ) regime. 11. last year, the mas decided to consolidate some of our supervisory resources into a single aml department so that we can further deepen our technical expertise and focus in this area. this will allow us to better streamline supervisory efforts across various sectors of finance such as banking, insurance and capital markets. at the national level, the aml department coordinates aml / cft strategies across all economic sectors, together with other government agencies. 12. the financial sector is a critical component of our national aml / cft defences. mas ’ framework involves four key elements : ( a ) progressive regulations ( b ) intensive supervision ( c ) rigorous enforcement ( d ) international co - operation and industry partnerships 13. firstly, on regulations. mas regulations for the financial sector are benchmarked to global standards. over the years, we have updated our requirements to keep them current and relevant. 14. but regulations are defined sets of rules and requirements.

international organisations including the fatf. in addition, it is important to have close supervisory co - operation between financial regulators and we hope to expand on our supervisory cooperation network. another area which we will strengthen is our partnership with the financial industry. 26. while law enforcement and regulatory authorities have wide powers, the financial industry has an “ on the ground ” vantage point with front - line knowledge of business and clients. it is hence advantageous to adopt a collaborative “ eco - system ” approach to holistically deal with 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches ml / tf risks. such a partnership should be as inclusive as practicable – involving law enforcement agencies, regulator and the industry. through collaborative partnership platforms, we can expand our understanding of emerging risks and the typologies criminals use to launder money. this will allow us to work together to design better tools to detect and deter ml / tf activities. with this in mind, i am pleased to announce the launch of the aml / cft industry partnership, or acip. 27. industry engagement is not new. the mas greatly values its many existing co - operation with the industry such as with the association of banks in singapore ( abs ). such partnerships are also not new in the world. other jurisdictions, for example the uk and australia, have also launched similar initiatives. 28. what the acip will do in addition, is to institutionalise a collaborative partnership between the law enforcers, regulator and industry. the acip will comprise a steering group which will be jointly chaired by the cad and mas with senior representatives from the abs and a pilot group of eight banks. it will provide a dedicated forum to more effectively exchange ideas and information to mitigate ml / tf risks based on the national threat assessment. 29. the steering group will set up various working groups to do targeted work on priority topics. these working groups will deliver tangible, relevant and targeted products which will be disseminated to the broader industry. the working groups will also share best practices and typology alerts. senior industry participants from within and outside the financial sector will be invited to contribute to these working groups. i trust that all relevant stakeholders will step up to the call. 30. last but not least, let me say something about capability and capacity building in combating ml / tf. private sector bodies such as acams are important in the training of aml / cft specialists, and will certainly complement the internal programmes