Anti-money laundering in the Pacific

the head of PALP, Kosi Latu.

by Dionisia Tabureguci

PACIFIC island countries have, at their disposal, a number of donor agencies and institutions that assist them in the establishment or enhancement of their anti – money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) legislations. One such effort is the Pacific Anti Money Laundering Project (PALP), a combined effort between the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the United States State Department.
Islands Business Magazine spoke to Kosi Latu, head of the PIFS-based PALP who spoke about the progress and other aspects of the project.

When was PALP set up and what is its function?
Latu: The Pacific Anti money Laundering Project, or PALP, the acronym that it goes by, is still a very new set-up. It has been going for about 7 months since September last year and is a joint initiative between the Pacific Islands Forum, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the US State Department. The PALP is to run for a period of four years and is funded by the US State Department. PALP is a regional technical assistance and training programme designed to assist Forum countries in establishing and/or enhancing their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing (CTF) regimes to comply with international standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and relevant UN Conventions and Security Council Resolutions.

HONG KONG HOTELIER EYES 'LAST FRONTIER'

With Fiji, Vanuatu in the bag, Samoa’s next


By Dionisia Tabureguci

Hong Kong hotelier, Richard Chiu, is looking at opportunities to build more hotels in the South Pacific region as growth prospects for this industry has been described as promising, particularly in Fiji and Samoa.

Chiu, who heads the Warwick group of hotels internationally, was in Fiji last month to announce a F$12 million 100-room expansion project for Naviti Resort along the Coral Coast.
“I think people are now realising that the Pacific is the ‘Last Frontier’ and I mean that in a positive way. They are starting to realise that if you are in search of a clean environment, natural beauty, you have to come here,” he said.