The Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance is currently hosting the APG Annual Typologies Workshop in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and the World Bank. Scheduled from November 28th to December 1st, 2023, this workshop is taking place in New Delhi.
The APG conducts yearly typologies workshops, gathering experts and APG delegates to engage in discussions revolving around money laundering and terrorist financing trends. These workshops also delve into policy issues arising from these trends. Each year, these workshops center around specific ‘themes’ to channel the discussion effectively. Since its inception in 1997, the APG has organized twenty-three typologies workshops. Remarkably, this in-person workshop is the first one after 2018. A total of 26 jurisdictions are actively participating in this crucial workshop.
The inaugural session of the workshop commenced with a welcoming address by Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Additional Secretary (Department of Revenue), and Head of the Indian Delegation to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Subsequently, the yearly typologies report on money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF), and proliferation financing (PF) trends was adopted. Notably, this report places a special emphasis on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, acknowledging the significant threat they pose concerning ML, TF, and PF.
The workshop itself is structured into three main segments – Virtual Assets (VA), Illegal Fishing, and Tax Crimes. The World Bank is conducting an ML/Tax Crimes Training Exercise encompassing various aspects such as a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to tackling criminal taxation, diverse information sources, beneficial ownership, tax crimes as predicate offenses, international cooperation, organization of evidence, and typologies.
The Virtual Assets/Virtual Assets Service Providers Stream is specifically focusing on risk assessments, insights from the private sector through VASPs participation, the intersection of terrorism financing and proliferation financing through VA, law enforcement case studies, and more.
Addressing illicit financial flows stemming from illegal fishing represents a complex challenge for law enforcement. Inadequate comprehension of the transnational nature of this crime, weak international coordination concerning the illegal proceeds from fishing, and the absence of parallel financial investigations have contributed to the negligence of ML or parallel financial investigations in relation to this predicate offense. To address this, the APG adopted an Issues Paper on illegal fishing, forming the basis for discussions during this workshop.
The APG, categorized as one of the Financial Action Task Force-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), stands as the largest with 42 members in terms of both membership numbers and geographical expanse. Additionally, the APG boasts a significant number of observers, including jurisdictions and supporting organizations, actively participating in its programs and activities. Key international bodies supporting the APG’s mission include the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, OECD, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UN’s Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate, Asian Development Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, INTERPOL, and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.