Canada finances anti-money laundering project in Vietnam

The Canadian Government will provide an additional aid worth US$330,000 for an on-going project to fight money laundering run by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vietnam.

An agreement to this effect was signed by Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister Leonard Edwards and UNODC Representative to Vietnam Narumi Yamada in Hanoi on April 17.

The sum has brought the total aid granted by Canada to the US$1.03 million project to overUS$700,000.

This move begins a new stage of the Canada-Vietnam co-operation in preventing financial flows from terrorist and criminal groups, said the Canadian Deputy FM at the signing ceremony.

According to Sen. Lieu. Gen. Le The Tiem, Deputy Minister of Public Security of Vietnam, the government has exerted efforts to fight crimes, particularly those involved in money laundering, adding a committee has been set up and a national strategy on the issue is being drafted.

The three-year project, beginning in July 2007, aims to help increase authorised agencies’ capacity in investigating and prosecuting money laundering crimes, and intensify information exchange and international cooperation.

In the first stage, the project with funding of more than US$600,000 from the United Kingdom and Canada, helped train more than 500 law enforcement and judicial workers and completed a draft plan of action against money laundering to submit to the Government for approval.

According to the project’s coordinator Hon Chan, from now to 2010, the project will help train trainers in localities who in future will directly teach workers, thus increase the effectiveness of the project.

According to UNODC, money laundering crime has become a global issue having impacts on all countries over the world. Vietnam, with booming trade and investment activities, is in need of effective measures to cope with this crime. (VNA)

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