Stakeholders have said that the risk of being on the "grey list" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is high due to the failure to effectively comply with the laws related to prevention of money laundering.
On the occasion of the Money Laundering Prevention National Day 2081 organized by the Money Laundering Investigation Department on Monday, the speakers said that the country's deteriorating economy and the issue of criminal money laundering are becoming complicated.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Chief Secretary Eknarayan Aryal, Governor Mahaprasad Adhikari and other government officials pointed out that even though Nepal has made significant progress in legal reforms, there is still a 'grey list' risk due to the lack of effective work on structural and practical reforms. Finance Minister Paudel said that even though Nepal has created laws and structures, the work done on asset laundering has not been effective.
Chief Secretary Aryal said that there is a delay in the investigation and prosecution of illegal wealth laundering. If one agency files a case, the other agency does not rotate the file and delay. Let all agencies work responsibly," he said. He emphasized that there are 13 agencies investigating money laundering and all should work in a coordinated manner.
The Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Mahaprasad Adhikari said that new risks are increasing and the trend of laundering illegal assets through the use of information technology is increasing. He urged us to be aware of the same type of risk, new risks are always coming.
