Maldives Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

This Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Maldives was prepared by a team of the International Monetary Fund using the assessment methodology adopted by the Financial Action Task Force in February 2004 and endorsed by the Executive Board of the IMF in March 2004. The views expressed in this document are those of the IMF team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Maldives or the Executive Board of the IMF.

This assessment of the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime of the Maldives is based on the Forty Recommendations 2003 and the Nine Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing 2001 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and was prepared using the AML/CFT assessment Methodology 2004, as updated in June 2010. The assessment team considered all the materials supplied by the authorities, the information obtained on site during their mission from October 17-28, 2010, and other verifiable information subsequently provided by the authorities. During the mission, the assessment team met with officials and representatives of all relevant government agencies and the private sector. A list of the bodies met is set out in Annex 1 to the detailed assessment report.

The assessment was conducted by a team of assessors composed of staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and three experts acting under the supervision of the IMF. The evaluation team consisted of: Ms. Nadine Schwarz (LEG, team leader and legal expert); Mr. Bert Feys (LEG, legal expert); Ms. Sisilia Eteuati (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, legal expert); Mr. Ashish Kumar (SEBI, India, financial sector expert) and Ms. Ke Chen (People’s Bank of China, financial sector expert). The assessors reviewed the institutional framework, the relevant AML/CFT laws, regulations, guidelines and other requirements, and the regulatory and other systems in place to deter and punish money laundering and terrorist financing through financial institutions and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP). The assessors also examined the capacity, implementation, and effectiveness of all these systems.

This report provides a summary of the AML/CFT measures in place in the Maldives at the time of the mission or shortly thereafter. It describes and analyzes those measures, sets out the Maldives’ levels of compliance with the FATF 40+9 Recommendations (see Table 1) and provides recommendations on how certain aspects of the system could be strengthened (see Table 2). The report was produced by the IMF at the request of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) Secretariat and the authorities of the Maldives. [[It was presented to the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and endorsed by this organization during its 14th Annual Meeting on July 18-22, 2011 in Cochin, India]].

The assessors would like to express their gratitude to the Maldivian authorities for their kind support and cooperation throughout the assessment mission.

IMF. Published: January 04, 2012. Series: Country Report No. 12/1

Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

Maldives: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes - FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

For more information about Maldives see Projects Southern Asia 

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