The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has recently made a few amendments to its hashtagCompetency hashtagStandards. To comply with international rules and regulations, the FSC had initially issued in 2014 the Competency Standards which aims to provide the minimum technical competencies required by financial institutions for specific positions.
The recent updates brought to the Competency Standards have been made with regards to the appointment of a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (“MLRO”), a Deputy MLRO (“DMLRO”) and a Compliance Officer (“CO”), for financial institutions.
The main requirements for these officers are listed below:
In terms of experience, the MLRO, DMLRO and CO shall each hold relevant experience of at least 5 years in the financial industry, or
- The FSC may consider relevant experience of at least 3 years in the industry, subject to the submission of relevant and valid AML/CFT professional certification such as:
- The Financial Services Institute (FSI),
- The Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS),
- The International Compliance Association (ICA) or
- Any other certifications meeting the global AML/CFT requirement standards.
- In the absence of relevant qualification from a recognised institution, the MLRO, DMLRO and CO may be eligible if he/she can demonstrate a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the industry, as per Section 4.6 of the Competency Standards.
These new requirements are applicable since the 1st June 2022 for all new MLROs, DMLROs and CO.