VIETNAM, February 24 - HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái on February 23 signed a decision promulgating the national action plan to implement the Government's commitment to prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The goal is to realise the National Action Plan to implement the Vietnamese Government's commitment with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), so as to soon remove the country from the Increased Monitoring List (Grey List) on the basis of ensuring to the maximum national interests.

The plan sets out 17 specific actions to implement the commitment, including demonstrating that competent authorities have improved understanding of money laundering/terrorist financing risks and are taking actions to mitigate these risks through the implementation of related strategies and policies; and proving effective cooperation, coordination and communication between relevant agencies.

Attention will be paid to strengthening formal cooperation (multilateral cooperation in extradition and legal assistance) and informal cooperation (of law enforcement agencies and Financial Intelligence Units) with foreign partners by providing constructive information and proactively seeking cooperation regarding criminals and their assets; and ensuring competent authorities, including central agencies, are provided with appropriate resources to carry out international cooperation.

Việt Nam will develop a legal framework to prohibit or regulate virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, and demonstrate enforcement of regulations to ensure compliance.

Law enforcement and prosecution agencies will prioritise parallel financial investigations and demonstrate a significant and sustainable increase in the number of money laundering investigations and prosecutions, consistent with Việt Nam's money laundering risk profile. — VNA/VNS