In recent years, the financial investigation course has been well received by many local and overseas law enforcement agencies, which are eager to develop their officers' anti-money laundering skills. This explains why this year the course has attracted 17 overseas guest-participants from Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. In addition, 13 others have come from the Public Security Bureaux, the People's Bank of China (PBC) Anti-money Laundering Bureau, the PBC Anti-money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Centre, and Macau's Judiciary Police and Commission against Corruption.

At the conclusion of the course, Director of Crime and Security Tang Hau-sing and Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Lo Yik-kee presented certificates to the participants.

As the international community is increasingly concerned with alternative remittance systems being used for laundering crime proceeds and terrorist financing, NB has set "Alternative Remittance Systems and Money Couriers" as the theme for this year's course. Speakers from various professions addressed the participants on complex issues, such as different types of alternative remittance systems and the ways these systems have been exploited by criminals. The course has provided not only an opportunity but also a unique occasion for participants to share experience and build up network essential to their future co-operation.

The speakers comprised government policy co-ordinators, legal experts from the Department of Justice, financial regulators, accountants and compliance officers from banks.

Mr Tang hoped that the course would, apart from providing skills and knowledge for conducting financial investigations, enable participants to timely share experience in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. He said that as money laundering crimes know no national boundaries, close co-operation among various law enforcement agencies was essential to eradicating such crimes.

Mr Tang believed that the understanding and trust built up by the course would facilitate future co-operation in investigations and operations among law enforcement agencies from different jurisdictions.

In his closing address, Mr Lo reminded the participants that money laundering did not limit itself to the use of conventional financial instruments. Alternative remittance systems, correspondent banking, precious metal trading, trust, offshore or shell companies etc., were all known to have been exploited in money laundering schemes.

"Insurance policies, credit cards, Internet, and technologies that favour anonymity etc., create more challenges to us and will change the terrain on which we wage the battle against money laundering. To retain our effectiveness and relevancy, we need to be vigilant of any emerging trends and methods, and to develop skills and measures ahead to identify and dismantle money laundering schemes well before they mature and become sophisticated," he noted.

Director of Crime and Security Tang Hau-sing stresses the importance of close co-operation among law enforcement agencies in eradicating money laundering