Bills on Anti-Money laundering: Govt forwards two ordinances to President

Flood in Seti River, KATHMANDU, JUN 18 -

The government on Sunday forwarded ordinances on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition Treaty to President Ram Baran Yadav for endorsement, amid high risk of Nepal being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering body.

FATF has been warning Nepal about possible blacklisting if the country failed to endorse three bills on anti-money laundering — Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition Treaty and Organised Crime — at the earliest.

Nepal had pledged to bring the laws within 2010, but the plan delayed due to differences between political parties.

Whether the president will endorse the ordinances is difficult to predict as

opposition parties have urged him not to endorse any ordinances forwarded by the caretaker government. An official at the President’s Office said they were yet to receive the government’s letter.

A cabinet meeting on Sunday decided to forward the two ordinances to president. “As political parties have informally acknowledged the need for bringing those laws through ordinance, the government forwarded the ordinances to the president,” said Finance Minister Barshaman Pun at a press meet here on Sunday.

However, the Cabinet failed to forward another ordinance on Organised Crime due to differences among political parties, according to Pun. A Cabinet Minister told the Post that bringing the ordinance on Organised Crime was not a formal agenda of Sunday’s meeting. “Ministers from both Maoists and Madhesi parties were a little sceptical about the bill on Organised Crime,” said a source. “That’s why the ordinance was not proposed at the Cabinet for decision.”

The government’s move is expected to minimise the risk of Nepal being blacklisted. The Financial Information Unit (FIU) at the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Sunday wrote to FATF about the progress.

“We have written to FATF about the Cabinet decision and the forwarding of the ordinances to the president,” said FIU chief Dharma Raj Sapkota. “We have also informed them that that president could endorse the ordinance within two-three days, making it clear that Nepal is on the way to fully complying with FATF guidelines.”

Sapkota said following the latest development, the meeting of the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of FATF to convene on Monday may postpone discussions on Nepal for the next few days until the president’s endorsement of the ordinances. FATF blacklists a country as per ICRG recommendation. Sapkota said the latest government move has minimised the chances of Nepal being blacklisted by 50 percent. “Had the ordinance on Organised Crime also been brought, we would have been in a comfortable position,” he said.

With the government failing to bring the three bills, Nepali officials are not representing in the upcoming FATF plenary scheduled for June 18 to 22. “Going to Rome empty handed is useless,” a senior NRB official.

NRB Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari had travelled to Paris, France, to attend last FAFT in February. Then, Nepal had to make utmost diplomatic efforts to avoid blacklisting, with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai himself lobbying hard with the diplomatic community.nine houses displaced

Source: The Kathmandu Post