Press Release

On 8th February 2022, H.E Mr. Sonam Tobgay, Ambassador of Bhutan to Australia, on behalf of the Financial Intelligence Department (FID) of the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA), and Ms. Nicole Rose PSM, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FID-RMA and AUSTRAC. The MoU will allow the two countries to cooperate in the timely and unimpeded exchange of information should the need arise for either parties to seek/provide money laundering and terrorism financing related financial intelligence/information in the future. The signing ceremony was conducted remotely to observe COVID-19 protocols.

Till date, FID-RMA has signed similar MoUs with 12 foreign Financial Intelligence Units. Such cooperative mechanisms facilitate rapid, constructive and effective exchange of the widest range of international cooperation in relation to money laundering, associated predicate offenses and terrorism financing. The need for such cooperative mechanisms also emanates from Recommendation 40 of Financial Action Task Force and Section 37 (9) of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act of Bhutan 2018.