harvesh seegolam : address - g20 / oecd task force on financial consumer protection address by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, on the occasion of the g20 / oecd task force on financial consumer protection, port louis, 26 april 2023. * * * ms. nisha arora, chair of the g20 / oecd task force on financial consumer protection mr. chris green, chair of finconet members of the oecd the finconet governing council i wish you all a very good morning or good afternoon, depending in which geography you currently are if you are attending this event virtually. at the outset, i would like to thank the g20 / oecd together with finconet for organising this event at such a critical juncture where the advent of technology is revolutionising the delivery of financial services, thereby creating additional challenges for financial consumer protection. unfortunately, due to professional commitments, i could not make it in paris. however, as you can see, technology has made wonders not only in the financial services sector but also to enable us to connect from all corners of the globe. financial consumer protection has been high on my agenda since my appointment as governor in march 2020. i am pleased to share with the audience that from the 22nd to the 24th of november this year, the bank of mauritius will host the annual general meetings of finconet. you are all cordially invited to attend and further details will be provided by finconet as we draw closer to the meeting. i am pleased to share my views on such an important topic as consumer education and consumer protection, particularly in a global financial environment that technology is radically transforming. it would not be proper to underscore the importance of financial education and consumer education if we fail to comprehend the hazards of not educating and protecting consumers of financial products. indeed, failing on these two fronts would inevitably result in citizens making poor financial decisions, thereby affecting their quality of life and, by ripple, undermining the efficiency of our banking and financial systems. it is with these imperatives in mind that i have initiated a number of projects. in january last year, the bank of mauritius rolled out a nation - wide strategy with specific focus on financial literacy in a digital era. the strategy, which benefitted from the oecd infe's endorsement, aims at fostering an appropriate level of financial education to enable customers

while technical compliance is essential, it is equally important to note that only achieving technical compliance with the fatf recommendations is not the sole determining criteria of the fatf. the effectiveness of the legislative and regulatory frameworks is crucial. as stated by mr liu, the former fatf president, “ t he challenge many countries face today is not the absence of comprehensive global standards, but the effective implementation of those standards. ” compliance is a continuous process. we have chosen to embark on this journey and we are highly dedicated to it. in this regard, i must say that we, at the bank of mauritius, are deploying substantial efforts on the effectiveness front to fully comply with the aml / cft standards recommended by international organisations. when we refer to effectiveness, the fatf expects financial institutions and designated nonfinancial businesses and professions ( dnfbps ) to – i. understand the nature and level of their money laundering and terrorist financing risks ; ii. develop and apply aml / cft policies ( including group - wide policies ), internal controls, and programmes to adequately mitigate those risks ; iii. apply appropriate cdd measures to identify and verify the identity of their customers, including the beneficial owners, and conduct ongoing monitoring ; iv. adequately detect and report suspicious transactions ; and v. comply with other aml / cft requirements. the duties, powers and responsibilities vested on the existing aml / cft supervisors, including the bank of mauritius, as regulator for the banking sector, and the financial services commission, as regulator for the non - banking financial services and global business sectors, have been enhanced. the bank of mauritius implemented a risk - based approach to aml / cft supervision. the guidelines on aml / cft were reviewed in the light of the changes brought to the domestic legislative framework and issued to the industry earlier this year. in addition, new aml / cft supervisors have been designated for the different categories of dnfbps. the fiu, which at inception was envisioned as an intelligence gathering agency, is now the aml / cft supervisor for five distinct categories of dnfbps, namely the three branches of the legal professions, the real estate and jewelry sectors. the aml / cft supervisors have benefitted and continue to benefit from training on the implementation of the risk - based supervision in line with the international standards and have all issued guidance to their licensees which sets out the parameters within which they should operate in order to