U.S. hails Colombia as leader in anti-money laundering

Colombia is a leader in the fight against money laundering and drug trafficking, Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States, said on Thursday.

"Honestly, we see Colombia as a leader. What entities like the Superintendent of Financial Institution have done to issue regulations...is trying to stop money laundering," he said.

Colombia is not waiting for something to happen to react, said the expert in an interview released on the website of the business newspaper La Republica.

But Szubin asked people not to be satisfied with the achievements obtained so far.

Szubin said that for governments around the world, money laundering and the financing of drug trafficking through financial system is a high priority topic.

When asked about how the financial sector could help to prevent money laundering, he said the sector had to be alert, knowing well about their customers, and monitoring suspicious transactions.

He highlighted the role of financial institutions in Colombia, which have done a good job in trying to know about their costumers, managing risks and working with the local government to monitor suspicious activities.

Source: Xinhua