The prevention of money laundering was the subject of a two-day international conference held in Budapest by Marcus Evans, which was addressed by Bank of Valletta’s Compliance Unit manager John Scicluna.

Mr Scicluna, who has addressed the conference before, was one of the main speakers. He spoke about customer due diligence systems and about developing strategies within financial institutions to prevent money laundering, with specific reference to Bank of Valletta.

Mr Scicluna made the point that: “International conferences such as the annual event organised by Marcus Evans provide an excellent platform for networking with officials involved in the prevention of money laundering in various countries.

“The exchange of information and ideas enables one to have a sounder knowledge of money laundering trends. This, in turn, supports the bank’s operations vis-à-vis the prevention of money laundering, thus promoting the retention of good business and the safeguarding of the bank’s

reputation”.

The conference reviewed a combination of practical and regional money laundering challenges that are essential for all players operating within Eastern and Western European communities. It dealt with issues on new money laundering trends being used and the associated techniques to prevent such illegal activity.

The impact of the third EU Money Laundering Directive and other topics of general interest for financial institutions involved in the fight against money laundering and financing of

terrorism were also discussed.