NBA, Fintelekt to collaborate on anti-money laundering

Kathmandu, June 8

Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA), an organisation of class 'A' commercial banks, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fintelekt Advisory Services, to collaborate on anti-money laundering initiatives.

Fintelekt is a global specialist in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Financial Crime Compliance (FCC).

The NBA said in a statement that the banking industry, being the gatekeeper to the country’s financial system, is bound under the Assets (Money) Laundering Prevention Act (2008) to identify and report suspicious transactions to the Financial Information Unit of Nepal.

"Money laundering and financial crimes have grown significantly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it an especially critical time for bankers to be vigilant and aware of various AML risks that they are dealing with," read the statement.  

The MOU was signed by Anil Kumar Upadhyay, President of NBA and Shirish Pathak, Managing Director of Fintelekt. They formalised a collaboration that will facilitate AML/CFT webinars, workshops and executive briefing sessions for NBA member banks.

The two organisations will also conduct research studies to aid policy decisions within banks and to provide feedback to regulators on various aspects within AML/CFT.

Fintelekt will also provide its strategic advisory services to enable banks to enhance their AML/CFT governance frameworks, said NBA.

“Fintelekt is capable of making a significant impact through its high-quality knowledge resources and qualified global advisors towards helping the banking industry in Nepal to more effectively and efficiently combat money laundering and terrorism financing,” said Pathak.

“The collaboration with Fintelekt is very much in line with NBA’s objectives of enhancing the knowledge, skill, efficiency and productivity of employees in the banking sector, particularly in this important area of AML and CFT,” said Upadhyay.

According to the statement, the two organisations will soon draw out a plan of action for the coming months and help build a stronger compliance regime in Nepal.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 9 June 2022.