Operation of Anti-Money Laundering Task Force in the Financial Sector for the Second Half of the Year

Starting from the second half of this year, the financial sector will operate an anti-money laundering (AML) task force (TF) at the level of industry associations and central organizations. This initiative is a response to the increasing sophistication of money laundering methods. On the 27th, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service held a meeting of the 'AML-related Agency Council' involving the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and 16 related organizations. The council was established to assess the risks and vulnerabilities of money laundering based on the results of the National Risk Assessment (NRA). The FIU discussed four areas to enhance response capabilities: risk assessment, governance establishment, system advancement, and strengthening the roles of associations and central organizations. Each institution will conduct its own risk assessment based on the NRA results and prioritize personnel and budget allocation to vulnerable areas. The operation of dedicated AML departments and the elevation of reporting responsibility levels were encouraged, along with discussions on the introduction of detection techniques using new technologies such as AI. From the second half of the year, the 'AML Advancement TF' will be operational, taking on six major tasks including sharing the latest money laundering trends, establishing standard guidelines, and developing joint suspicious transaction detection rules. This discussion may also serve as a reference for virtual asset service providers, as there is a growing movement abroad to include virtual asset service providers in the anti-money laundering supervisory framework.