2014 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION108 CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE111 2.1 Organization Background 111 2.2 GIF’s Organization Structure and Functions 111 2.3 Duties of GIF113 2.4 Human Resources of GIF115 CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs)116 3.1 Statistical Data 116 3.2 Statistics on Recent Trends of Suspicious Transactions 119 CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR121 4.1 Coordination of the Interdepartmental AML Working Group 121 4.2 Follow-up of APG/GIFCS Joint Mutual Evaluation and Preparation for the Next Round of Mutual Evaluation 124 4.2.1 National Risk Assessment124 4.2.2 Revision of Legislation126 4.2.3 Policy Development Studies127 4.3 Participation in International Organizations activities 129 4.3.1 Hosting of APG Annual Meeting129 4.3.2 Chairing of the Mutual Evaluation Working Group of the APG130 4.3.3 Participation in Mutual Evaluations131 4.4 International Cooperation 131 4.5 Cooperation among Government Agencies 132 4.6 Attending International Conferences 134 4.7 Public Awareness 138 4.7.1 Training138 4.7.2 Website148 4.7.3 Publications148 4.8 Courtesy Visit from/to Other Entities 149 CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION151 5.1 Means of STR Submission 151 5.2 Enhanced Documentary Security and Case Management 152 CHAPTER VI CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS153 107 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION For the Financial Intelligence Office (GIF), 2014 has been a year full of challenges and achievements. The views on whether the world economy has regained momentum in 2014 have been mixed. The economy of the US has shown more convincing signs of recovery compared with previous years, which could be followed by the kickoff of the interest rise cycle. However, the US alone could not pull the world economy into new prosperity, as demonstrated by the weak performances of Europe and Japan which had to be boosted by expansionary policies with uncertain outcome. For China, the government has been cautious in controlling the inflation and yet preventing the economy going into a contraction. Nevertheless, it was still able to maintain a GDP growth of 7.4% in the 4th quarter of the year1, which is still an outstanding figure. However, in 2014 Macao started to see a decline in GDP growth of -0.4%2 compared to the 14.3% growth of 2013, driven by the fall in export of services growth dominated by the gaming industry. Macao experienced its first decline in monthly gross gaming revenue seven months in a row since 2008, which led to a negative growth of 2014 gross gaming revenue of 2.6%3 compared with 2013. Nevertheless, the strong gaming revenue in the first half of the year, together with the growth in investments, has supported the economy and contributed to the GDP of 2014. Yet Macao must be prepared for a period of slower growth in economy, which hopefully will stabilize in mid-2015. 1 National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://data.stats.gov.cn/english/easyquery.htm?cn=B01 2 Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR Government, http://www.dsec.gov.mo/Statistic.aspx?lang=en-US&NodeGuid=b35edb8a-ed5c-4fab-b741-c91b75add059 3 Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, http://www.dicj.gov.mo/web/en/information/DadosEstat_mensal/2014/index.html 108 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Despite a general slowdown of the world economy, quick and colossal flows of funds have never stopped, and experience shows that risks of economic crimes always increase with the degree of economic downturn. On the other hand, in 2014 the threats of terrorism have become more imminent in the world, with the rise of extremist groups and an evolution of the form in which terrorist attacks are perpetrated with violent actions of individuals rather than groups which makes them harder to track. International organizations against money laundering and terrorism have always heeded such trends closely and initiated immediate actions. These are reflected in the revised anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) recommendations and the issues of updated guidance papers, which must be closely followed by member countries. As a member of the world economy and a free port, Macao also has the responsibility to follow suit such recommendations and best practices to mitigate the risks. Regardless of the changes in the economic situation, GIF has closely followed its plan in enhancing the local AML/CFT system and preparing for the upcoming Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) mutual evaluation. A major progress made in 2014 was the National Risk Assessment (NRA) project. GIF, with the support of Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) Government, has worked closely and diligently with members of the cross-departmental AML Working Group (which was established via Order of the Chief Executive in January 2014) and an external consultant to set up the risk assessment framework after numerous studies, visits and discussion. Despite the difficulties encountered during the process, all member agencies involved in the assessment process have gained valuable experience and enhanced their communication and data collection mechanisms, which form the basis of the proof of effectiveness of the AML/ CFT system. With the completion of the framework, the second phase of the NRA project commenced immediately at the end of 2014 with the actual collection of data by different agencies. The collection and analysis of supervision and private sector data will contribute to a detailed assessment of the AML situation of Macao, which has never been conducted before. 109 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Another major achievement of GIF in 2014 is the completion of the drafting work of AML Law Revision, which incorporates new measures recommended in the APG Mutual Evaluation Report of 2007 and revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards. At the same time, with the assistance of Law Reform and International Law Bureau (DSRJDI), the drafting of the law on freezing of terrorist assets has also come to the final stage. Apart from these important projects, GIF always takes the training to public and private sectors seriously and a number of seminars, workshops and courses have been conducted in the past year to raise the overall AML standard of Macao as a whole. A major breakthrough in this year is the successful cooperation with Law and Judicial Training Centre (CFJJ) in inviting prosecution experts from Portugal and Hong Kong to share their money laundering crime prosecution experience with local judicial and law enforcement entities. Another major event was the hosting of the APG Annual Meeting in Macao. Details of the projects and work above can be found in the upcoming chapters of this annual report. For all the accomplishments above in 2014, GIF would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to the Macao SAR Government, in particular to the Secretary of Economy and Finance and his Office for their continuous support throughout the previous years. Contributions from the team of GIF during 2014 would never be understated. At the same time we have to thank the members of the Inter-departmental AML Working Group, including the supervisory, law enforcement and judicial agencies who have been working very hard in the past year to build a more effective AML system for Macao. With the end of 2014, 2015 marks the year of the new Macao SAR Government and under the leadership of Mr. Leong Vai Tac, our new Secretary, GIF will strive to make further progress in fulfilling its duties. 110 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE 2.1 Organization Background GIF was established on 8th August 2006 under Executive Ruling no. 227/2006 with the primary role of collecting, analyzing and disseminating information on suspicious transactions of money laundering and terrorist financing. It was established for coping with the implementation of Law no. 2/2006 and Law no. 3/2006 on Prevention and Repression of Crimes of Money Laundering and Prevention and Repression of Crimes of Terrorism. Under Executive Ruling no. 227/2006, GIF was set up in the form of a project entity with a term of three years that could be extended under the order of the Chief Executive. The mandate of GIF was extended in May 2012 for three years until 7th August 2015 by Executive Ruling no. 80/2012. 2.2 GIF’s Organization Structure and Functions Director/ Deputy Director Legal Counsel Policy and Compliance STR Technical IT Support Administration and General Affairs Collection and Analysis of STR Statistics and Typologies Training and Public Awareness 111 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE The core function of GIF is to collect, analyze and disseminate relevant information to law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities or other entities vested with the authority to prevent and suppress crimes relating to money laundering or terrorist financing. In exercising such duties, GIF is granted with the following specific competence: • To receive information provided by different entities and to establish and maintain a database with such information; • To analyze the information received and report the suspicious money laundering activities to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP); • To provide assistance to law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities and other entities empowered to prevent and suppress money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, based on their requests with stated legitimate reasons, particularly in the form of information sharing and technical support; • To provide to and receive from entities external to the Macao SAR information about money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, under authority of any inter-regional agreements or any other international law instruments; • To collaborate with public entities to establish and revise anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing guidelines; and • To develop promotional and educational programs for public awareness about AML/CFT. 112 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE 2.3 Duties of GIF The Director takes on the leadership, coordination and management responsibilities so as to fulfill the duties stipulated in paragraph 2 of Article 8 of Law no. 2/2006, Article 11 of Law no. 3/2006, and Executive Ruling no. 227/2006. The duties of GIF are categorized into 4 main areas: Policy and Compliance, Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) Collection and Analysis, Statistics/Typologies and Training and Public Awareness. Such duties are performed with the support of the following three teams of back office staff: Legal Counsel, IT Support and Administration and General Affairs. Policy and Compliance GIF has the duty to keep track of international developments and update the information on international standards, laws and conventions. It liaises on continual basis with international bodies such as FATF, APG, and the Egmont Group, and answers assessment questionnaires and enquiries of the same nature. Domestically GIF follows up with the change in local laws and recommends new measures for keeping abreast with the latest developments. STRs Collection and Analysis GIF is responsible for collecting and analyzing STRs submitted by different reporting entities as well as inputting data collected through these STRs into the database. All incoming reports will be verified to ensure all data is properly filled in and a first feedback will be sent to the reporting entity accordingly. The initial feedback will be followed by subsequent follow-up replies if deemed necessary. At the same time analysis will be carried out, including data matching against existing records and intelligence provided by local law enforcement and foreign counterparts. GIF has been granted the authority to request additional information from reporting entities, if necessary, for indepth analysis on any case, and to propose reported cases deemed suspicious to the MP. 113 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE Statistics/Typologies GIF has to extract statistical data periodically from received STRs, as well as providing instructive information such as trends and typologies to the supervisory agencies and reporting entities. Analysis reports on typologies and transaction types will be prepared for internal and cross-departmental reference, and these reports may serve as insights for further policy review. Training and Public Awareness To arrange training and public awareness programs on AML/CFT is one of GIF’ s important responsibilities. For this reason, GIF needs to search for suitable training resources provided by international bodies, arrange local courses by inviting experts from abroad, and take part in seminars and workshops overseas. At the same time, promotional campaigns by means of brochures, newspaper articles and advertisements in mass media are necessary to raise public awareness about the importance of AML/CFT. 114 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE 2.4 Human Resources of GIF The overall manpower of GIF remained stable in the past four years and the human resources structure of GIF is as follows: Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 Director 1 1 1 1 Legal Counsel 1 1 1 1 STR-Technical 12 12 12 13 STR-Administration 4 4 3 3 IT Support 5 5 5 5 Administration and General Affairs 14 13 14 13 Total 37 36 36 36 In 2014, one new staff member was recruited in the area of STR Technical section, while one staff member in the Administrative and General Affairs section has left. The overall head count of GIF has remained unchanged. As shown from the constant number of staff in the past few years, staff of different sections accumulated more experience from their work and performed more efficiently, which ultimately adds value to GIF. 115 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OFSUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs) CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs) 3.1 Statistical Data GIF continues to carry out its duties as provided under Executive Ruling no. 227/2006 to perform strategic analysis on STRs received. In comparison with the same figure of the previous year, there has been an increase of 14% in total number of STRs reported. The increment of STRs reflects the continual improvement of AML/CFT awareness among industries, in particular the gaming sector. The total number of STRs received and their variances are as follows: Year Number of STRs Variance 2007 725 +34% 2008 838 +16% 2009 1,156 +38% 2010 1,220 +6% 2011 1,563 +28% 2012 1,840 +18% 2013 1,595 -13% 2014 1,812 +14% 116 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OFSUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs) Among all STRs received in 2014, the gaming sector submitted 1,370 reports which accounted for over 75% of the annual submissions. The financial sector on the other hand submitted 441 reports to GIF. The gaming sector has the major growth momentum in terms of reporting. The number of STRs related to the gaming sector has increased by 20.4% as compared with the figure of 2013. The major reason for the increase is due to the adoption of a new policy by several gaming concessionaires on customer due diligence as well as a better control of funds transfers. The submission of STRs without identity details of subjects continued to decline and this phenomenon is consistent with the tendency of the previous year. The number of STRs submitted by the financial sector has slightly decreased by 3.5% to a total of 441 as compared with that of last year. Despite such small drop, the overall quality of STRs has improved as shown by the reduction in defensive reporting which is replaced by reporting supported by more details. Statistical information relating to the number of STRs received in 2014 is given in Table 1 & Chart 1. Table 1: Statistical data of STRs received in 2014 Reporting Entity Number of STRs Reporting Entity Financial Institutions* Number of STRs Variance (%) 20072008200920102011201220132014 '13 vs '14 343386382338477510457441 -3.5% Games of Fortune Operators 374 443 767 814 1,0821,3281,1381,370 +20.4% Other Institutions 897684201 N/A Total 725 838 1,1561,2201,5631,8401,5951,812 +13.6% *including exchange counters 117 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OFSUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs) Chart 1: Number of STRs Filed by Sectors in 2007 - 2014 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 68 1000 600 200 0 1,138 1,082 800 400 1,370 1,328 443 767 814 382 338 374 343 386 477 510 457 441 2007200820092010 20112012 20132014 Financial Institutions Games of Fortune Operators Other Institutions During 2014, GIF has submitted 163 STRs to MP, which represents an increase of 10.9% as compared with the figure of 147 submitted in 2013. The rise was caused by increased reporting of supplementary information, although the number of new cases reported to MP has decreased moderately. 118 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER III TREND AND DEVELOPMENT OFSUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STRs) 3.2 Statistics on Recent Trends of Suspicious Transactions “Chips Conversion without/with minimal Gambling Activities” continues to be the most common typology in 2014; this casino-related typology appeared in 766 STR cases. “Suspicious Wire Transfers” and “Use of Cheques/Promissory Notes/Account Transfer to Transfer Funds” are most commonly seen in the financial sector. “Currency Exchanges/Cash Conversion” was once a typology commonly related to the gaming sector and has now dropped out of the top 10 due to the more stringent control of cash exchange activities. Another most significant drop in ranking could be seen on “Unable to Provide ID/Important Personal Information” which ranked the fifth and saw a larger decrease in number by nearly 50%. This shows that reporting entities have shifted their attention from transactions with unidentifiable suspects to those with useful identification information. The top 10 most prevailing typologies (in terms of occurrence) in 2014 are given in the following Chart 2 & Table 2. Charts 2: Ranking of Statistics on Typologies of STRs 800 700 600 500 400 300 766 200 433 346 100 274 173 0 172 143 125 120 97 68 12345678910 11 STRs 119 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CAPÍTULO III SITUAÇÃO ACTUAL RELATIVAMENTE AOS RELATÓRIOS DE TRANSACÇÕES SUSPEITAS Table 2: Ranking of Statistics on Typologies of STRs (in order of occurrence) Typologies Number of STRs 1 Chips conversion without/with minimal gambling activities 766 2 Suspicious wire transfers 346 3 Use of cheques/promissory notes/account transfer to transfer funds 274 4 Suspected underground banking/alternative remittance services 173 5 Unable to provide ID/important personal information 172 6 Irregular large cash withdrawals 143 7 Significant cash deposit with non-verifiable source of funds 125 8 Suspected Politically Exposed Person (PEP) related transaction 120 9 Possible match with international watch-list or other black list 97 10 Counterfeit currency 68 11 Others* 433 * Other typologies including Account holder issues/receives casino cheques, Currency exchanges/cash conversion, Use of ATM/phone banking/cash deposit machines, Attempted but unsuccessful transaction, Bank account holder with gambling activities (casinos, horse racing, internet gambling etc.), etc. 120 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.1 Coordination of the Interdepartmental AML Working Group The Interdepartmental AML Working Group was established informally in 2002 and is an interdepartmental group of different government agencies with an aim to coordinate all the AML/ CFT related works in Macao. GIF continued to be the coordinator of the AML Working Group and meetings were held regularly. Taking into account the changing environment and the international standards as well as the emerging trends and typologies, the Macao SAR Government strengthened its scrutiny in the AML/ CFT regime through the formal establishment of the AML Working Group by the Chief Executive Internal Order no. 11/CE/2014 in January 2014. Functions of the AML Working Group are now formally specified as follows: 1) Coordination and follow-up of the works related to the evaluation and assessment of Macao conducted by international and inter-regional AML/CFT organizations, especially in coordinating the collection of related necessary data; 2) Carrying out policy studies related to AML/CFT; 3) Provision of AML/CFT training and public awareness programs to the economic sectors involved in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (ML and TF); 4) Exchange of information on trends related to AML/CFT; 121 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 5) Establishment of special sub-Working Groups whenever deemed necessary for the study of some particular AML/CFT related issues. All the Working Group members show their enthusiasm to fight against ML and FT by reappointing experienced officers at higher levels to participate in Working Group meetings and discuss policy issues. Two new members were introduced into the AML Working Group in 2014, bringing in a total of 16 different agencies of supervisory, legal and law enforcement nature, including (in alphabetical order of Portuguese acronym): (1) Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) (2) Commission against Corruption (CCAC) (3) Independent Committee for the Exercise of Disciplinary Power over Solicitors (CIEPDSS) (4) Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) (5) Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) (6) Macao Economic Services (DSE) (7) Financial Services Bureau (DSF) (8) Law Reform and International Law Bureau (DSRJDI) (9) Housing Bureau (IH) (10) Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) (11) Public Prosecutions Office (MP) (12) Judiciary Police (PJ) (13) Public Security Force (PSP) (14) Macao Customs Service (SA) 122 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR (15) Unitary Police Service (SPU) and (16) Financial Intelligence Office (GIF). During 2014, GIF organized 3 AML Working Group meetings and a number of bilateral meetings with individual government agencies. The following issues were discussed: • Follow up the implementation of the recommendations of the APG/Group of International Finance Center Supervisors (GIFCS) Joint mutual evaluation report (MER) and preparation for the next round of mutual evaluation (ME), in particular the coordination with other government agencies to identify and assess ML and TF risks in Macao SAR through the NRA Project (see Section 4.2.1); • Follow up the revision of Law no. 2/2006 “Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Money Laundering” and Administrative Regulation no. 7/2006 “Preventative measures for the crimes of money laundering and financing of terrorism” (see Section 4.2.2); • Coordinate with the members of sub-Working Group on the implementation of freezing measures (Freezing Study Group) to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) sanctions and to collect comments from different competent authorities in drafting the Freezing Law (see Section 4.2.3); • Coordinate training activities for different government agencies; and • Report on APG Annual Meeting and Typologies Workshop. 123 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.2 Follow-up of APG/GIFCS Joint Mutual Evaluation and Preparation for the Next Round of Mutual Evaluation As the 3rd round of Mutual Evaluation for Macao, China is tentatively scheduled for late 2016, the AML Working Group has already commenced the relevant preparation work. Given that the next round of Mutual Evaluation will mainly focus on the risk and effectiveness of implementation, the major task carried out by the AML Working Group in 2014 was the NRA Project (details of which will be discussed in the section below). Besides that, the AML Working Group continued to follow up the law revision and other study projects. Supervisory agencies also initiated the revision of AML/CFT guidelines to address the gap with international standards requirements. 4.2.1 National Risk Assessment The NRA on Macao SAR was officially kicked off in late 2013. Since then, tremendous efforts were exerted by AML Working Group members, and because of their active participation, Phase I of the NRA project could be completed by August 2014 as scheduled. In order to facilitate the NRA Project, the AML Working Group and the external consultant of the project, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, had meetings in early 2014 and agreed on the timeline to achieve major milestones in Phase I, including: • Establishment of the NRA Framework • Establishment of a Centralized Coordination System • Identification of the High Risk Areas • Design of the NRA Skeleton, Data Collection Matrices (DCMs) and Sector Questionnaires • Training to government agencies and relevant private sectors 124 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR During 2014, a number of meetings were held, both within the scope of the government agencies themselves, or with the participation of Deloitte. A kick-off meeting was held in December 2013 and 4 NRA Steering Committee meetings were held before August 2014, between the AML Working Group and Deloitte, to report and follow up with the status of the NRA Project. Around 48 individual one-to-one meetings were held with the government agencies and private sector, the main purpose of which was not only to get information from the industries, but also to get the stakeholders aware of the importance of the risk assessment. With the concrete efforts inputted by the AML Working Group members, the NRA Skeleton, DCMs and Sector Questionnaires were finalized and endorsed by all NRA team members in Phase I of the NRA Project. In the mean time, the relevant supervisory agencies grasped the time to roll out Sector Questionnaires as preparation for Phase II of the project which was later kicked off in November 2014. Different sector questionnaires covering the financial sector (namely banks and insurance companies) and designated non-financial business and professions (DNFBPs) (namely gaming operators, dealers of high value products, real estate intermediaries, company service providers) were sent out by the respective supervisory agencies during the period from August to November 2014. Explanatory sessions were arranged respectively to brief the different sectors about the content of the sector questionnaires. This kind of industry-wide and in-depth risk assessment sector questionnaires provided a very good opportunity for the different agents of each sector to be aware of the associated risks of their particular industries. As a continuation of Phase I of the NRA Project, Phase II of the project is mainly composed of data collection, analysis, evaluation and report writing. Individual sector review reports will be prepared based on the results of the Sector Questionnaires mentioned above, and threat analysis report on the judiciary and law enforcement areas will also be prepared. These individual reports will be compiled into the final NRA report. 125 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR Challenging but rewarding, the final end product of the NRA project will serve as a very good reference for Macao SAR to identify, assess, and understand its money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and to establish high-level strategic AML/CFT policies for prioritization of resources according to the high risk areas identified. 4.2.2 Revision of Legislation Revision of AML/CFT Legislation The main objective of revising the AML/CFT Law and Administrative Regulation is to incorporate the recommended measures given in the APG/GIFCS Mutual Evaluation Report in 2007 and the new requirements emerging from the revised FATF 40 Recommendations adopted in February 2012. The final draft of the law revision project has already been submitted to proceed with the legislative process. Asset freezing legislation The drafting of the special law on implementation of freezing measures required under the UNSCR sanctions has come to the final stage and will proceed with the legislative process once the final draft is approved. Revision of AML/CFT Guidelines In 2014, supervisory agencies in the AML Working Group commenced their review work on revision of AML/CFT guidelines. The guideline for the insurance sector (Notice No. 15/2014AMCM) has already been revised and published in Official Gazette on 31 December 2014 and 126 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR will be effective from 2 January 2015. On the other hand, the guideline for the banking sector is also under review. In 2015, GIF will commence discussion work with the supervisory agencies of DNFBPs to revise the AML/CFT guidelines. 4.2.3 Policy Development Studies Another important function of GIF is to carry out different study projects for policy development. These study projects can serve as a useful reference for the Working Group members for their prioritization of work, allocation of resources and development of operation procedures, supervisory guidelines, etc. Below are the major analytical reports prepared by GIF in the past. Non-profit Organization (NPO) Sector Review Report Since the last NPO review report in 2011, there have been substantial changes in international requirements regarding the abuse of NPO for terrorist financing activities. Therefore, with the assistance of DSF and Identification Bureau (DSI), GIF completed another NPO sector review in March 2014 as planned to address the new revision of FATF Recommendation 8 and to reassess the extent the NPO sector in Macao conforms to international requirements, as well as the sector’s potential vulnerabilities of fundraising activities in Macao. Short- to long-term recommendations were proposed to the relevant government authorities in the report. It is expected that the existing registration requirements for NPOs and the transparency and governance of NPO activities can be further improved. Furthermore, as part of an ongoing NPO review work, the Working Group continues with the quarterly survey on review of the cross border fund movement of NPOs through the banking sector 127 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR to assess the underlying risks of banks who deal with NPO customers. Annual Large Transaction Reports (ROVE) and Casino STR Analysis Report For the past few years, GIF has prepared annual ROVE and Casino STR analysis reports with the information gathered from STRs and ROVE. These reports serve to analyze the nature of ROVE transactions in terms of its turnover and breakdown of transaction types so as to understand the nature of casino transactions and its implications in risk control. Another part of the analysis concentrated on the STRs reported by casinos, in which the general trend of casino ML risks could be observed by looking at the typologies involved. Trends identified in casino STRs are a key element in understanding the risks and introducing the mitigation measures required. Some STRs can also highlight possible deficiencies in the AML control of casinos, which in turn will be of high reference value for the monitoring work of DICJ. Such information has been shared with DICJ through bilateral meetings and annual summary analysis reports. Analysis Report on Alternative Remittance Systems Alternative Remittance Systems (hereinafter referred as ARS) are financial services, traditionally operating outside the conventional financial sector, where value or funds are moved from one geographic location to another. For the purpose of understanding the transaction pattern and associated risks involved with the ARS in Macao, GIF commenced study work in this area in 2013. With collection of relevant data 128 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR in daily STR analysis, GIF has compiled yearly review report of Alternative Remittance Systems in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Several major ARS transaction patterns and trends were observed, which were conducive to understanding the underlying risks and developing effective strategies and measures against the findings from the report. Positive feedbacks were received from the departments concerned, including MP, PJ, AMCM, DICJ, DSE and DSF, after the reports were shared with them. 4.3 Participation in International Organizations activities Money laundering and terrorist financing never confine themselves to domestic borders and always involve international movements of funds. As such, different international organizations foster cooperation and compliance globally with the internationally recognized standards in AML/ CFT, in particular the 40 Recommendations of FATF. Macao joined the APG in 2001 and GIF joined the Egmont Group in 2009. During its years of membership, Macao has been proactively enhancing its AML/CFT efforts through the participation in the meetings as well as the assessment missions of member jurisdictions. 4.3.1 Hosting of APG Annual Meeting The Macao SAR Government hosted the 17th Annual Meeting of APG from 15 to 18 July 2014. More than 350 delegates from 41 member jurisdictions, together with delegates from international organizations and other observers gathered in Macao to discuss the AML/CFT issues of common interest and share experiences in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing activities. This is the second time that the Macao SAR hosted this event after it previously hosted the 6th APG Annual Meeting in 2003. 129 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR As the major contact point with international organizations in the AML/CFT area, GIF was the coordinator of this event. The Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao SAR Mr. Tam Pak Yuen, the Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China Mr. Li DongRong and the President of FATF Mr. Roger Wilkins were honorably invited to join the opening ceremony of the 17th APG Annual Meeting. Throughout the 5 days of the meetings, the 17th APG Annual Meeting produced fruitful outcomes in AML/CFT areas. The hosting of such event in Macao not only brought together professionals from Asia-Pacific region to share experiences but also reflected the commitment and responsibility of Macao SAR in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. 4.3.2 Chairing of the Mutual Evaluation Working Group of the APG Along the end of the revision of the FATF Recommendations and Assessment Methodology, a new Working Group, the Mutual Evaluation Working Group, was established within the APG with the core function to report back to the APG Secretariat and to provide technical assistance related to the follow-up of the 2nd round Mutual Evaluation as well as the arrangement of the new 3rd round Mutual Evaluation. With the fruitful experience gained in previous assessments and technical assistance work, the Legal Counsel of GIF was nominated as one of the Co-Chairs of this Working Group in the margin of the 2014 APG Annual Meeting. After a rigorous review process and with unanimous consent from members, the Legal Counsel of GIF was appointed Co-Chair of the Mutual Evaluation Working Group in September 2014, in co-operation with another Co-Chair from Australia. 130 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.3.3 Participation in Mutual Evaluations Another commitment of Macao SAR as member of international organizations is the nomination of assessors for the 3 rd round of APG Mutual Evaluations. Four representatives from the AML Working Group joined the assessor training workshops organized by the APG in September 2013 and May 2014 respectively, to provide their professional expertise in financial, legal and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) fields. As a commitment for their participation in the assessor training workshops, they will have to take up assessment work for APG member jurisdictions. The participation in assessment work not only demonstrates Macao’s active participation in international interface but also provides valuable inputs for preparation for the next round Mutual Evaluation of Macao. 4.4 International Cooperation Globalizations, interconnection of world economies and financial systems, as well as new technologies, allow instant transfer of funds around the globe. Therefore, the prevention and suppression of ML/TF can never succeed without international strategic alliances. GIF realizes that good relationships with foreign counterparts and commitment to international cooperation is an important aspect in its operations, and thus has been actively seeking opportunities to establish cooperation and financial intelligence exchange channels. In 2014, GIF has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Australia and the United States, making a total of 13 MOUs signed with foreign countries and jurisdictions. GIF values every new relationship as it can create opportunities to share intelligence and to uncover illegal cross-border financial flows. As such, a cooperation mechanism with focus on AML/ CFT regime has been established among LEAs, supervisors and FIUs of China, Hong Kong and Macao. The first meeting was held in July 2014. 131 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR The following table indicates the data on information exchange between GIF and foreign counterparts during 2014: Statistical Data of Information Exchange 2014 Number Incoming Requests for Information 25 Outgoing Requests for Information 167 Intelligence Received 6 Intelligence Sent 6 During 2014, GIF received a number of delegations representing different authorities/entities from other countries or jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Japan and China. GIF values these visits as face-to-face communication channels can enhance bilateral relationships and provide direct contact points for future cooperation and information exchange. 4.5 Cooperation among Government Agencies Pursuant to the objective to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, GIF continued to maintain close cooperation with members of the AML Working Group. During 2014, the following meetings were held among supervisory agencies and law enforcement agencies to exchange information with common interests: Supervisory Agencies • Four bilateral meetings were held quarterly between AMCM and GIF to discuss AML/CFT issues including the scope of coverage under the NRA and sector questionnaires to be 132 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR sent out, revision of AML/CFT guidelines, follow up on results of international meetings and workshops, highlights of STR cases, sharing of information on STR quality and compliance, as well as cooperation in AML/CFT training, seminar and public awareness campaign; • A bilateral meeting between DICJ and GIF were held in August to discuss the annual ROVE report, STR statistics, progress on the preparation of NRA, highlights of STR cases and sharing of information on STR quality and compliance; • A tripartite meeting was held in September with DSE and IH to discuss about the current practice of DSE in AML/CFT supervision of real estate agents and the resources required, and to share experience on the main challenges faced. Project Groups • Pursuant to the kick-off meeting of the NRA Project held in 2013, 4 Steering Committee meetings were held in 2014 among the law enforcement agencies, supervisory authorities and external consultant concerned, including MP, Office of the Secretary for Security (GSS), PJ, CCAC, PSP, SPU, SA, AMCM, DICJ, DSE, DSF, IPIM, IH, DSRJDI, DSAJ, CIEPDSS, Deloitte and GIF. Forty eight one-to-one meetings were arranged to meet both the government agencies and the private sector. The high level of cooperation from the departments contributed to the successful completion of Phase I of the NRA Project; • One meeting was held in April with DSRJDI to follow up on the drafting of the Freezing Law as well as the schedule for the legislative process; • Four meetings were held in the first and second quarters respectively with SA, PJ and GSS to follow up the implementation of the Cross-border declaration system. 133 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.6 Attending International Conferences During 2014, representatives of GIF continued to participate in the following international meetings: January / March / May / September: APG Missions and Asia/Pacific Regional Review Group (APRRG) meetings The legal counsel was invited by ICRG to take part in the face-to-face meeting held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 13 to 18 January 2014 as well as to provide technical assistance to Timor-Leste from 10 to 14 March 2014. Furthermore, the legal counsel was invited by APRRG again in May and September to take part in the face-to-face meetings held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 12 to 16 May 2014 and Siem Reap, Cambodia from 1 to 5 September 2014. February: Egmont Working Group and Committee Meeting The legal counsel and an analyst of GIF attended the Egmont Working Group and Committee Meetings held in Budapest, Hungary, from 16 to 19 February 2014. 2014 Egmont Working Group and Committee Meeting in Budapest, Hungary 134 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR June: 22nd Egmont Plenary The Director, the legal counsel along with an analyst attended the 22nd Egmont Plenary, which was held in Lima, Peru from 1 to 6 June 2014. During the Plenary, the Head of FIUs have adopted a number of documents, among which the most important ones are the Egmont Strategic Plan 2014-2017 and the Support and Compliance Procedure with revised triggers criteria. The 22nd Egmont Plenary in Lima, Peru 135 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR July: The 17th APG Annual Meeting The 17th APG Annual Meeting was hosted by the Macao SAR Government in July 2014, and GIF was the main co-ordinator of this meeting. Please refer to section 4.3.1 for more details of the 17th APG Annual Meeting. The 17th APG Annual Meeting in Macao, China Opening ceremony of the 17th APG Annual Meeting 136 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR November: The 17th FATF/APG Joint Experts’ Meeting on Typologies and APG Technical Seminars 2014 Delegates from AMCM, CCAC, DICJ, PJ, and PSP along with the legal counsel and 2 analysts from GIF attended the 17th FATF/APG Joint Experts’ Meeting on Typologies and APG Technical Seminars 2014 hosted by the Government of Thailand in Bangkok from 24 to 28 November 2014. A number of typology projects were discussed during the Workshop including “Transparency of beneficial ownership”, “Third party money laundering”, “Trade-based money laundering”, “Making asset recovery work” and “Understanding cybercrime”. 2014 FATF/APG Joint Experts’ Meeting on Typologies in Bangkok, Thailand 137 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.7 Public Awareness In view of the increasing complexity of anti-money laundering issues, GIF continued to raise public awareness through publications and coordination of appropriate on-going training programs for different stakeholders to cope with this challenge. Awareness raising programs have been carried out progressively from the top involving the supervisory agencies, moving down to the reporting entities and eventually to the general public through training tailored to different stakeholder groups and the publication of newsletters and annual reports, as well as the website with updates on AML/CFT issues accessible to the public. Apart from the usual training on AML/ CFT, special explanatory sessions in regard of the NRA sector questionnaires have been held for some specific sectors during the year. The sessions not only provided clarification on questions in the sector questionnaires and collected valuable comments but also raised the awareness of the reporting entities on the high risk areas and expected risk mitigation measures. 4.7.1 Training Local Training for GIF Staff and other Government Agencies During 2014, the following training sessions have been attended by staff of GIF and other government agencies of the AML Working Group: February As part of the promotion program for customs supervisor, an AML/CFT seminar was organized by SA on 21 February 2014 for the potential customs officers. The Director and an analyst from GIF were the guest speakers in that seminar. 138 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR May Four analysts of GIF attended the 1-day workshop on 28 May 2014 at the invitation of AMCM. The intensive workshop was organized by VISA and was intended to discuss the economic and social benefits of electronic payments, strategic considerations in developing an effective payment system that would facilitate the growth of electronic payments in a country. The analysts attended the 1-day workshop organized by VISA 139 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR September Three analysts of GIF attended a half-day seminar held by AMCM on 19 September 2014, where presentations on “Trusts and Companies: Beneficial Ownership Issues” and “Reform and Marketing Transformation of Electronic Banking” were provided. A seminar entitled “The challenges facing prosecution and hearing of ML/FT cases”, targeted at judges, registrars, notaries, legal professionals, solicitors and trainee solicitors, etc., was held by CFJJ in collaboration with GIF on 26 September 2014. The Director and an analyst of GIF were among the group of over 80 participants while the legal counsel was invited to be the moderator of the seminar. The topics covered were mainly related to the collection of evidence, production of evidence, different prosecution standards in different regions and the international trends observed. A seminar held by CFJJ in collaboration with GIF. 140 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR November In November, CFJJ invited legal experts from Portugal and France to provide 2 half-day seminars on 13 and 14 November 2014 respectively. The Director, the legal counsel and the analysts of GIF with other participants from legal profession attended the seminars. During the 2 seminars, the guest speakers shared with the participants their experience in the investigation and prosecution of money laundering, fraud and corruption cases. Legal experts Dr. José Francisco Nota Ribeiro and Dr. Nicolas Baïetto from Portugal and France were invited by CFJJ and GIF Overseas Training for GIF Staff and other Government Agencies During 2014, under the coordination of GIF, the AML Working Group members attended the following workshops held by international bodies: 141 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR May A delegation of 7 representatives from MP, PJ, AMCM, DICJ and GIF attended a 3-day workshop entitled “APG Pre-Mutual Evaluation and NRA Training Workshop” in Seoul, Korea from 28 to 30 May 2014. This course was designed for jurisdictions to be evaluated in the next round of mutual evaluation. Topics covered the FATF assessment methodology and the APG 3rd round mutual evaluation procedures including the main steps of the evaluation process. GIF attended the “APG Pre-Mutual Evaluation and NRA Training Workshop” in Seoul, Korea. August The Director of GIF attended a 5-day assessor training workshop hosted by the APG in Seoul, Korea from 18 to 22 August 2014. The objective of the workshop was to identify potential assessors for the 7 mutual evaluations of member jurisdictions in the period 2015-2016. 142 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR Training for Private Sector Raising the awareness of stakeholders, particularly the reporting entities, on their AML/CFT obligations is always crucial to the functions of GIF. During 2014, the following training sessions have been conducted: April/May The Director and the analysts of GIF were invited by AMCM to attend the “8th Annual Seminar on AML/CFT” held by the Banking Supervision Division and the Insurance Supervision Division on 16 April 2014 and 5 May 2014 respectively. One analyst from GIF was invited to deliver a presentation regarding the latest trend of money laundering, STR quality and compliance, as well as updates on the STR feedback mechanism in both seminars. Deloitte as the external consultant of the NRA Project was also invited among the other speakers to have a discussion on Customer Due Diligence measures, high risk customers and PEPs. The Director and the analysts attended the “8th Annual Seminar on AML/CFT” 143 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR The Director and an analyst of GIF were invited by AMCM and UnionPay to be the speakers in a seminar with the participation from merchant acquirers namely the jewelry shops and the pawn shops. Discussions on the risk posed by CUP card transactions, and the new payment methods (i.e. alternative remittance system) were covered in that seminar. Three analysts of GIF were among the 100 participants joining the seminar. May/August/November As in last year, GIF was invited by the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) to provide training on AML/CFT to real estate agents as part of the mandatory training programs for qualified real estate agents. A total of 4 training sessions were carried out on 17 May, 30 August and 14 November during 2014. The speakers from GIF presented the topics on AML/CFT legal framework, introduction to guidelines for real estate agents issued by DSE, risk management strategy for real estate sector and case studies. GIF provided training on AML/CFT to real estate agents 144 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR August/September/October In order to assist the different sectors with the NRA sector questionnaires, a total of 5 explanatory sessions were held by different supervisory agencies in association with GIF in August, September and October respectively. The explanatory sessions were intended to provide the financial sector and other business sectors (namely the real estate agents, pawn shop and jewelry shop owners) with a deeper understanding of the sector questionnaires. GIF visited Association of Property Agents and Realty Developers of Macau 145 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR September The Director and an analyst of GIF were invited by the Asia/Pacific Academy of Economics and Management and Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming of University of Macau, as guest speakers for a seminar held on 25 September 2014. The seminar was targeted at the middle management of gaming concessionaires and intermediaries. Topics covered included government requirements on AML preventive measures to be implemented by casinos and junkets, ML cases, FATF standards and how to comply with such standards. GIF held a seminar for the managerial staff of the gaming operators and junkets 146 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR October to December GIF was invited to provide training sessions on AML/CFT to the front line staff of Tai Fung Bank, China Life and OCBC Wing Hang Bank on 15 October, 17 October and 25 November 2014 respectively. Topics such as the legal framework of AML, functions of GIF, statistics of STRs as well as the latest typologies were covered. A total of around 500 staff members attended the training sessions. GIF provided a training session on AML/CFT to the front line staff of OCBC Wing Hang Bank. An analyst of GIF was invited to be the principal speaker in the seminar entitled “International Standards on AML and the Measures for combating money laundering”, which was held on 12 December 2014. The seminar was jointly organized by The Macao Association of Banks and The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, with a participation of 100 attendees from the banking sector. By integrating theory with practical case studies, the participants were able to achieve a better understanding of the international standards on AML and the requirements imposed by the supervisory agencies in Macao and Hong Kong. 147 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.7.2 Website Over the years, GIF has been renovating and strengthening its website through the enhancement of information system’s security and facility of access. The website of GIF serves as a platform for the public to access the latest news of GIF and the recent AML/CFT developments in Macao, which includes the publications issued by GIF, e.g. the annual reports, newsletters for different industrial sectors of reporting entities, information on financial intelligence units with which GIF has signed MOU/Cooperation agreements, APG MER and the updates on GIF activities. Members of the AML Working Group can also access through the secured intra-Working Group information system to receive the updated information and internal documents from international organizations, mainly the FATF and the APG. 4.7.3 Publications Aside from the Annual Report, the semi-annually published newsletters are another key channel for GIF to provide to the public and reporting entities the latest information on AML/CFT, including recent trend of money laundering typologies and indicative case studies. As usual, the newsletters for the financial sector and the gaming sector were published in May 2014 and November 2014 respectively to present information on STR statistics, relevant case studies, international trends and developments related to AML/CFT regime. 148 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR 4.8 Courtesy Visit from/to Other Entities In 2014, GIF has received several courtesy visits from foreign counterparts as well as local financial institutions, including FIU of United Kingdom, Korean and Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong, Bank of China, etc. Through these visits, GIF had an opportunity to introduce to them the AML/CFT work of the Macao SAR government and the recent trends on money laundering activities. These visits also helped to enhance the cooperation to fight against money laundering activities with the nearby regions and provided direct communication channels to discuss about the AML/CFT compliance issues. Courtesy visit by FIU of United Kingdom 149 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER IV ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORIST FINANCING IN MACAO SAR Courtesy visit by Consulate General of South Korea 150 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION 5.1 Means of STR Submission In order to provide a more secure and rapid delivery of STRs other than the traditional channels in paper form and electronic STR filing, GIF rolled out another STR reporting channel for the reporting entities to submit their STRs to GIF via Online System (Secured Website) in June 2011. Since then, the efficiency of the STR submission process and the accuracy of information reported are significantly enhanced. The table below shows the utilization rate of the three current methods of STR submission in the past three years. Table 3: Statistical Data for the Methods of STRs Submission Methods of Submission Number of STRs 2012 % 2013 % 2014 % Paper Form 533 28.97% 360 22.57% 424 23.40% Encrypted Email 49 2.66% 40 2.50% 35 1.93% Secured Website 1,258 68.37% 1,195 74.93% 1,353 74.67% Total 1,840 100% 1,595 100% 1,812 100% In 2014, the number of STRs submitted through secured website remained at the same level of 2013 in terms of percentage. Out of 74.67% of online submission, 111 STRs were reported by financial institutions while 1,242 were submitted by casino operators. It is expected that the secured website reporting system will still be the major method for the reporting entities to submit their STRs in the near future, and enhancement of the system will be carried out in 2015. 151 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION 5.2 Enhanced Documentary Security and Case Management Considering the development of money laundering/terrorist financing activities overseas, GIF has been continuously improving its AML/CFT analytical system and network infrastructure, in particular focusing on the electronic data exchange channels, workflow enhancement, integration and tracing of external information exchange, better utilization of office automation to support local and regional cooperation in information exchange, as well as optimizing its multi-analytical tools to improve the efficiency in financial intelligence analysis. Maintaining the stability of the information system and network infrastructures is crucial to achieving operational efficiency in GIF. With the extension in the degree of server virtualization, system management and allocation of resources have become more effective, and the impact on system performance for hardware repair is greatly reduced, ultimately providing better stability in the overall information system. In response to the complexity and ever-changing network security threat, GIF is always alert to the potential risks and new methods of virus attack. In order to ensure that the connection between GIF and external networks are secured, GIF implemented feasible and effective security patches and deployed prevention policies, which include the timely upgrade of server systems, integration of intrusion prevention systems, mail security with anti-spam filtering and end-point computer security. 152 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER VI CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS CHAPTER VI CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS Although the previous years have always been challenging for GIF, 2015 is especially crucial due to a number of targets that have to be achieved: Revision of Legislation, Supplementary Rules and Regulation The work on the revision of the AML Law and the drafting of special law on implementation of freezing measures required under UNSCR sanctions will be continued in 2015. To prepare for the new measures that come with the law revision, GIF will collaborate with the supervisory authorities on the necessary work such as review of existing guidelines and communication with different sectors about the new AML requirements with the conduction of seminars and training workshops. National Risk Assessment Phase II of the NRA Project has entered an important stage when most of the data from both government agencies and private sectors have been collected and analyzed in early 2015. The NRA exercise has been proceeding according to schedule and it is expected that the project could be completed by the end of August 2015. The working schedule is tight and every government agency is working hard to meet the targeted deadlines. It must be emphasized that the NRA is an exercise that requires continuous follow-up and renewal of data. The end of Phase II only marks the completion of the first stage, which will be followed by a series of follow-up work on the recommendations given in the report. An important purpose of the NRA exercise is to let the stakeholders understand the inherent ML/TF risks of their sectors, so that proper risk mitigation measures can be introduced to deal with and mitigate the 153 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION risks. Lots of follow-up work will be needed by government agencies to ensure that the necessary risk mitigation measures are properly implemented. A new round of the NRA will be performed after a reasonable period to assess the progress on implementation of the recommendations and updated status of the risks. Enhancement of GIF As an essential part of the NRA Project, the result of analysis on threat from crimes provides guidance on how GIF should improve its present practice, an example of which is the enhancement of typologies collection and analysis which can better identify the new ML trends and initiate immediate response. On the other hand, in accordance with the policy of Macao SAR Government to streamline structures and procedures, GIF has already undergone restructuring to raise efficiency and meet the higher demands of work in terms of both quantity and quality. Collaboration with different local and international agencies will be further enhanced. Training and awareness programs are always an essential part of GIF’s activity. The training programs in 2015 will be focused on the effective implementation of risk mitigation measures, and more practical courses will be organized to enhance the general understanding among supervisory and law enforcement agencies on the international standards requirements. Many of the tasks above are orientated towards meeting international requirements or preparation for the upcoming mutual evaluation, but at the same time only with such work can Macao deal with the fast changing local and international environment. With the fall of the gaming revenue, a downturn of the economy is expected in 2015 for which the Macao SAR Government will take a prudent approach, including preparation for the possible increase in crimes. At the same time the world is suffering from a new threat of terrorism signified by the rise of new terrorist groups and terrorist activities. For the past year the whole AML Working Group, including GIF, has invested great efforts to strengthen the AML environment, and we will continue our common endeavor to protect Macao from the risks of ML and TF crimes. 154 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report APPENDIX – GLOSSARY APPENDIX – GLOSSARY AMCM Monetary Authority of Macao (Autoridade Monetária de Macau) AML/CFT Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism APG Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering APRRG Asia/Pacific Regional Review Group CCAC Commission against Corruption (Comissariado contra a Corrupção) CFJJ Legal and Judicial Training Centre (Centro de Formação Jurídica e Judiciãria) CIEPDSS Independent Commission for the Exercise of Disciplinary Power over Solicitors (Comissão Independente para o Exercício do Poder Disciplinar sobre os Solicitadores) DICJ Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos) DNFBP Designated Non-Financial Business and Profession DSAL Labour Affairs Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços para os Assuntos Laborais) DSAJ Legal Affairs Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Assuntos de Justiça) DSE Macao Economic Services (Direcção dos Serviços de Economia) DSF Financial Services Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Finanças) DSI Identification Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Identificação) 155 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report APPENDIX – GLOSSARY DSRJDI Law Reform and International Law Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços da Reforma Jurídica e do Direito Internacional) FATF Financial Action Task Force FIU Financial Intelligence Unit GIF Financial Intelligence Office (Gabinete de Informação Financeira) GIFCS Group of International Finance Center Supervisors GSS Office of the Secretary for Security (Gabinete do Secretário para a Segurança) IH Housing Bureau (Instituto de Habitação) IPIM Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (Instituto de Promoção do Comércio e do Investimento de Macau) JFIU Joint Financial Intelligence Unit of the Hong Kong Police Force Macao SAR Macao Special Administrative Region ME Mutual Evaluation MER Mutual Evaluation Report ML and TF Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing MOU Memorandum of Understanding MP Public Prosecutions Office (Ministério Público) NPO Non-profit Organization 156 Financial Intelligence Office 2014 Annual Report APPENDIX – GLOSSARY NRA National Risk Assessment PEP Politically Exposed Person PJ Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária) ROVE Large Transaction Report (Relatório de operação de valor elevado) SA Macao Customs Services (Serviços de Alfândega) SPU Unitary Police Services (Serviços de Polícia Unitários) STR Suspicious Transaction Report UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution 157 Financial Intelligence Office
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