Premier vows to fight cross-border crime at anti-money laundering event

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Taiwan will continue to jointly shoulder the responsibility of combating crime and contribute to world security and stability, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Monday at an anti-money laundering event in Taipei.

Speaking at the opening of the 2024 Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) assessor training workshop, Cho said fighting money laundering is a goal that is common to Taiwan and other countries around the world, according to a Cabinet statement.

Taiwan will continue to prepare according to international standards and jointly shoulder the responsibility of fighting crime for the security and stability of the world, Cho said.

He said the government puts a high priority on fighting money laundering and combating terrorism, and has listed the fight against gangs, money-laundering, guns, drugs, and fraud while protecting the stability and security of all sectors of society as key policies.

Cho also highlighted Taiwan's presence in the APG since joining it as a founding member in 1997.

"We are very pleased that Taiwan is hosting a five-day official event for the first time," Cho said.

In its third round APG mutual evaluation in 2019, Taiwan was placed on the "regular follow-up" list, the APG's most favorable category, and Cho thanked the international community for its recognition of Taiwan's maintenance of economic order.

To more rigorously enforce anti-money laundering laws, Taiwan uses the ABC strategy, which stands for adaptation, block and cooperation to promote various efforts to prevent money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism, Cho indicated.

In terms of adaptation, Cho said it referred to the adaptation of laws and regulations through the recent amendment of existing laws, such as the Money Laundering Control Act and passage of a new Fraud Crime Prevention Act, to give law enforcement officials more effective crime-fighting tools.

"B" means to block crime, Cho said, by updating digital tools that can be used by the Anti-Money Laundering Office under the Executive Yuan and law enforcement officers to crack down on illegal activities.

"C" represents cross-border cooperation, Cho said, noting that in addition to previous joint efforts with the United States to crack down on computer rooms for cross-border fraud, international cooperation between Taiwan and APG is also a top priority.