The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (FIU, BDCB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in Singapore on February 14, BDCD announced in a statement yesterday.
Under the MoU, the two agencies agree to cooperate in the exchange of financial intelligence in the investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of money laundering or terrorism financing.
FIU, BDCB and AUSTRAC have had past collaborations on projects related but not limited to, analyst hubbing programmes and capacity-building initiatives preceding to the signing of the MoU. The MoU was welcomed as another important milestone in the FIU, BDCB and AUSTRAC’s areas of cooperation.
The MoU is the eighth signed by the FIU, BDCB. Current MoUs include those signed with the Financial Intelligence Units of Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos and the Philippines.
The signing of MoU’s with other Financial Intelligence Units is in line with the Principles of Information Exchange of the Egmont Group, the global organisation of international Financial Intelligence Units.
The MoU signing is an important step towards complying with international standards on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism, in particular, the Financial Action Task Force, Recommendation 29.
The FIU, BDCB and AUSTRAC are the central agencies in Brunei and Australia for receiving, requesting, analysing, and disseminating financial intelligence and other information related to money laundering and terrorism financing.
