Support to the Lao PDR authorities in updating their assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risks

Criminal activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, and corruption often yield significant profits for those involved. However, the individuals or groups engaging in such illicit practices face the risk of attracting law enforcement attention by using funds derived from these activities. To avoid detection and prosecution, criminals must conceal the illicit origins of their profits.
Money laundering is the process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through the financial system in an attempt to legitimise their illicit origins.
The risk-based approach (RBA) is central to the effective implementation of the revised FATF International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation, which were adopted in 2012. The FATF Standards require countries to identify, assess, and understand its national risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing and take steps to mitigate them.
Following the assessment, countries must demonstrate their capacity and effectively address these identified risks through the implementation of robust policies and mechanisms. Last week, ILSTA supported the Lao PDR authorities in updating their assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risk