PNG to be grey listed

Papua New Guinea is set to face grey listing for the second time by the Financial Action Task Force.

Bank of PNG Governor Elizabeth Genia confirmed "grey listing is imminent".

She made this when concluding her keynote address to the Anti-Money Laundering inaugural conference, currently held in Port Moresby.

The conference brings together participants from cross section of the economy and is co-hosted by Transparency International PNG and Bank of PNG.

The head of the central bank wants discussions in the two days event to look at "finding solutions [and] help to reduce time on grey listing".

The 12 months observation period ends this month, and if the country fails to meet the 40 recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force, grey listing will take effect in February next year.

According to BPNG Website, "the main challenge remains effective coordination among government agencies and successful prosecution of financial crimes and recovery of illicit assets."

PNG was once grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force in 2014 and removed in 2016 after fulfilling the required technical reforms.