Antonio Gustavo Rodrigues, president of the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF) in Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, declared Monday, November 28, that Brazil is on the right path in the fight against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.
According to Rodrigues, the country has developed efficient techniques against these practices. Rodrigues is in Rio de Janeiro participating in the annual meeting of the Financial Action Task Force on Money-Laundering (FATF), an intergovernmental body composed of 33 countries to design policies capable of curbing illegal financial practices around the world.
Besides Brazil, these 32 countries and organizations make up the FATF: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Gulf Co-operation Council, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom. United States
For the president of the COAF, despite all the efforts, it is impossible to eliminate completely the activities associated with money-laundering. "They exist everywhere in the world, but we must make things more difficult and risky for the criminals."
Through Wednesday, November 30, 240 specialists from various countries will discuss the ways in which money-laundering and terrorist finances may be linked to modern payment mechanisms, such as magnetic cards and on-line payments.
"We shall share experiences acquired by different countries to expedite the use of appropriate measures to protect the financial system and keep these means from being used to launder money or finance terrorism," Rodrigues summed up.
Agência Brasil
