Meet on money laundering from July 18

KOCHI: Over 350 senior government officials from Asia/ Pacific region and around the world will attend the 14th annual meeting of the Asia/ Pacific Group(APG) on money laundering scheduled to begin here on Monday.The annual meeting organised by the Government of India from July 18-22 at Le Meridien Hotel will be a platform for high-level discussion by APG member countries.The meeting will be attended by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Giancarlo Del Bufalo of Italy.The progress made by APG members in implementing international standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism will be evaluated.There will be sessions chaired by Union Secretary K Jose Cyriac and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus.Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be the keynote speaker at the welcome ceremony on July 19.The closing media conference on July 22 will be attended by APG Co-Chair K Jose Cyriac, APG Co-Chair Tony Negus and APG Executive Secretary Gordon Hook.The APG was officially established as a regional organisation in 1997 at the fourth Asia/Pacific Money Laundering Symposium in Bangkok.The APG ensures that mechanisms are in place for international cooperation, given the international dimension to money laundering and terrorist financing.The APG members undergo a mutual evaluation and prepares a Mutual Evaluation Report which presents a probing assessment of the levels of compliance with the international standards and recommend actions.The APG in conjunction with the FATF and the other regional anti-money laundering bodies constitute an affiliated global network to combat money laundering.