PNG off finance grey list: Dept

THE country has been taken off the “grey list” of the multi-disciplinary body, the financial action task force, officials say.
The task force is made up of 37 countries and operates as a peer review mechanism to hold governments to account for their commitment to fighting international crime and improving financial stability.
PNG was included on the list in 2014.
Department of Justice and Attorney-General deputy secretary legal and policy Roselyn Gwaibo said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had written to the task force to make a commitment that the country would work towards being delisted.
“Since then, our State agencies have been very cooperative. Through the national coordinating committee on anti-money laundering and finance terrorism, they came together to try to remove us from the grey list.
“These involved a lot of institutional reforms, the passage of two new laws and the revision of three other laws,” she said.
BPNG’s financial analysis and supervision unit acting director Benny Papoitai said PNG had been criticised for failing to establish and implement adequate measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
“Our failure to implement the international FATF recommendations received widespread criticism and condemnation from the private sector domestically and globally.”
he said.
He said on June 21, the task force during its meeting in Busan, South Korea, voted on a motion to get PNG off the list.
The motion was moved by New Zealand and supported by Australia and India.