Joint Statement of the Co-Chairs of the ‘U.S.-India Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Dialogue’

“On December 13, 2023, we, Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Mr. Brian Nelson, reconvened and co-chaired the India-U.S. Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Dialogue. The Ministry of Finance hosted the dialogue in New Delhi.

We the co-chairs reconvened the India-U.S. AML/CFT Dialogue as it is an effective forum for India and the United States to share perspectives and best practices on how to strengthen the collective efforts of both the countries to address illicit finance risk across our countries and the international financial systems.

In forum sessions, our participants discussed each country’s experience with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, given the focus area of both sides to promote responsible innovation while mitigating illicit finance risks. Both parties recognised the pressing need to accelerate global implementation of AML/CFT standards for virtual assets, in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, to effectively addressing the issue of regulatory arbitrage.

Participants discussed each country’s efforts to enhance transparency in beneficial ownership, including the implementation of beneficial ownership registries, tools to improve data quality, and verification of the information. This is a crucial step in combating money laundering and other financial crimes, as it allows authorities to track the flow of funds and identify those who are ultimately responsible for them.

Finally, we discussed the current challenges each jurisdiction is facing with regard to sanctions implementation, as well as opportunities to improve cooperation and information sharing to better combat sanctions evasion and terrorist financing in the region and globally.

Our delegations identified various areas in AML/CFT where India and U.S. can jointly work together and share experiences and best practices. Specifically, we agreed to convene the dialogue again next year to build on this week’s productive discussions. We also agreed that in advance of next year’s dialogue, ongoing technical-level discussions will continue to advance our priorities and identify additional areas for cooperation. Finally, we agreed to pursue opportunities to enhance coordination and cooperation bilaterally and multilaterally, including working together within the FATF.

Reconvening and co-chairing the India-U.S. AML/CFT Dialogue reaffirms the commitment of India and the United States to work jointly to address illicit finance risk in the international financial system.”