stability facilitates their integration into the global financial system. they will also contribute to more transparent governance and effective fiscal administration. at the international level, there is renewed interest to review policies relating to banking secrecy and transparency, which are two of the factors identified to have contributed to the current financial meltdown. in this regard, the financial action task force ( fatf ) has initiated a study to assess the effectiveness of its policy tools in response to the current financial and economic crisis. the fatf is now identifying policy tools which may need further strengthening and evaluating whether new policy tools or responses may be needed to meet any new challenges. this is an opportunity for us to provide feedback to the fatf on its 40 + 9 recommendations, including implementation challenges. against this backdrop, the theme of this conference, “ strengthening vigilance during turbulent times ”, aptly describe what i believe should be considered by every institution during this challenging times. this is further supported by the key content of the sessions covering the critical issues to be deliberated by the stakeholders involved in aml / cft. ii. emerging trends and risks of money laundering and terrorism financing it is a permanent battle to put in place a robust aml / cft regime that could effectively deter and detect serious offence by removing the economic incentives attached to the crime. there will be continuous and sustained attempts to out - maneuver the aml / cft system. for this, let me share some thoughts with you on the second theme of this speech, which is on the emerging trends of money laundering and terrorism financing in this region. today, while the purpose and criminal intent remains unchanged, i. e., to disguise illegal proceeds as legitimate assets, the launderers are now using more complex structures and sophisticated methods to launder money and circumvent the preventive measures that has been put in place. allow me to share four examples as follows : 1. it is observed that instead of the simple structuring of transactions ( or smurfing ), recent cases have highlighted the increasing use of third parties to layer the proceeds of crime to distance them from its origins. the setting up of front shops and complex trust accounts using nominees are some of the common tools increasingly being used by the perpetrators ; 2. as reflected in the fatf strategic surveillance survey 2008, there is also an increasing trend of criminals leveraging on technology advancements to further their activities. for this, the use of internet banking, e - money, remittance

development. towards this end, several initiatives in regards to sustaining and improving the level of expertise in the industry have been put in place. earlier this year, bank negara malaysia has launched the international centre for education in islamic finance ( inceif ), an institute providing internationally recognised certification and programmes with the aspiration to strengthen the pool of specialists in islamic finance. inceif offers an international professional certification programme for islamic financial practitioners that includes a dedicated module on takaful. this complements islamic banking and finance institute malaysia ( ibfim ) and international centre for leadership in finance ( iclif ) in providing adequate training at all levels to the industry players and technical programmes in islamic finance. in addition, bank negara malaysia has recently announced the shariah scholarship award that is offered to local and foreign candidates to pursue post - graduate studies in the field of shariah relating to fiqh muamalat ( islamic commercial jurisprudence ) in recognised universities as well as to obtain the certified islamic finance professional offered by inceif. the bank also offers shariah research grant to research organisations and institutions of higher learning, both local and foreign, to undertake research in the areas of shariah relating to islamic finance, takaful and the islamic capital market. all these initiatives are aimed to enhance the pool of talents, knowledge and research capacity in the field of shariah relating to islamic banking, takaful and the islamic capital market. ladies and gentlemen, the growth and development that have been achieved thus far have provided takaful operators with greater opportunities or avenues to progress, both at domestic and international levels. hsbc amanah takaful ( malaysia ) sdn. bhd. and hsbc bank malaysia berhad, with the group's strong international network and experience, are well positioned to make malaysia as their regional and global hub for islamic banking and takaful. hsbc amanah takaful ( malaysia ) sdn. bhd. should also leverage on the strengths of its shareholders i. e. hsbc, jerneh insurance berhad and employees provident fund, to further accelerate the growth of the takaful business. on this note, it is my pleasure to congratulate hsbc insurance ( asia pacific ) holdings limited, jerneh asia berhad, and epf on this momentous occasion of the official launch of hsbc amanah takaful ( malaysia ) sdn. bhd.