Responses to the related comments of EU Report on the MOU signed between the Monetary Authority of Macao and the People’s Bank of China in relation to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Monetary Authority of Macao noted the comments in the EU’s Annual Report on Macao SAR (25 April, 2016) regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (“MOU”) signed between the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) last year and the relevant media coverage, and would like to reiterate as follows: 1. The AMCM has been exerting relentless efforts in enforcing the prevention of activities of money laundering and terrorist financing according to the international standards. The PBOC is the coordinating agency responsible for implementing the measures in relation to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in the Mainland. The MOU signed between the AMCM and the PBOC is to implement the recommendations advocated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on cross-border regulatory and supervisory cooperation, and to further enhance and strengthen the prevailing supervisory system to prevent and combat the activities of money laundering and terrorist financing in the financial sector of Macao SAR. 2. The signing of the MOU is in line with the common practice for cross-border regulatory and supervisory cooperation, which does not alter or affect any applicable laws and regulations. The AMCM and the PBOC, following the relevant laws and legal regulations of Macao SAR and the Mainland respectively, shall strengthen bilateral cooperation in the exchange of regulatory and supervisory information and other relevant aspects of on-going supervision according to both the MOU and the FATF standards.