The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) is established under the Section 3(1) of Financial Crimes Act (FCA) as principal national agency responsible for preventing and combating financial crimes. The functions of the FIA, as set out under Section 4 of the FCA, include:
- Request, receive and analyze reports submitted by Reporting Institutions;
- Submit reports to relevant law enforcement agencies or supervisory authorities based on financial intelligence analysis;
- Create and maintain a database of statistics and records on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT);
- Conduct research into trends techniques and developments in financial crimes, tracing of proceeds of crime and terrorist financing;
- Cooperate with local and international institutions on AML/CFT;
- Offer training and support; and
- Conduct public awareness on AML/CFT
Among other powers provided for under Section 5(c) of the FCA, the FIA is required to investigate any matter in relation to implementation of the FCA.
The FIA implements its operations under the following Strategic Objectives:
- To detect and deter financial crimes including money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
- To update the anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism legal and regulatory framework;
- To strengthen organizational structure, processes and systems for effective FIA performance;
- To strengthen coordination with key stakeholders; and
- To increase public awareness of the FIA and anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism issues.
