India, US reaffirm commitment to combat illicit finance risks in global financial system

New Delhi [India]: India and the United States have reiterated their commitment to jointly work to address illicit finance risk in the international financial system.

India and the US recently co-chaired the ‘US-India Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)Dialogue’. US Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson travelled to New Delhi for the same.

Reconvening and co-chairing the dialogue reaffirms the commitment of India and the United States to “work jointly to address illicit finance risk in the international financial system,” a joint statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs read.

On December 13, Sanjay Malhotra, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E Nelson, reconvened and co-chaired the dialogue.

The dialogue was hosted by the Ministry of Finance in the national capital.

Both countries reconvened dialogue as it is an “effective forum for India and the United States to share perspectives and best practices on how to strengthen the collective efforts of both the countries to address illicit finance risk across our countries and the international financial systems”, the joint statement also said.

In forum sessions, participants from both India and the US discussed their country’s experience with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, given the focus area of both sides to promote responsible innovation while mitigating illicit finance risks.

“Both parties recognised the pressing need to accelerate global implementation of AML/CFT standards for virtual assets, in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, to effectively address the issue of regulatory arbitrage,” the joint statement also read.

The participants also discussed their country’s efforts to enhance transparency in beneficial ownership, including the implementation of beneficial ownership registries, tools to improve data quality, and verification of the information. This is a crucial step in combating money laundering and other financial crimes, as it allows authorities to track the flow of funds and identify those who are ultimately responsible for them.

Finally, both India and the US discussed the current challenges that their respective jurisdiction is facing with regard to sanctions implementation, as well as opportunities to improve cooperation and information sharing to better combat sanctions evasion and terrorist financing in the region and globally.

Delegations from India and the US identified various areas in AML/CFT where India and the US can jointly work together and share experiences and best practices.

Specifically, the co-chairs agreed to convene the dialogue again next year to build on this week’s productive discussions.

India and the US also agreed that in advance of next year’s dialogue, ongoing technical-level discussions will continue to advance our priorities and identify additional areas for cooperation.

Finally, the two countries also agreed to pursue opportunities to enhance coordination and cooperation bilaterally and multilaterally, including working together within the FATF, the joint statement also read.