The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed the outline of a government-initiated bill that proposes to merge the Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) with the Unitary Police Service (SPU).
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak introduced the outline of the bill during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle yesterday.
After yesterday’s passage of its outline, the bill will be passed to one of the legislature’s standing committees for an article-by-article review, after which it will be resubmitted to another plenary session for its second and final debate and article-by-article vote.
The bill proposes to amend the current law regulating the statutory functions and powers of the Unitary Police Service.
The current Financial Intelligence Office was established in 2006 merely as a “project team”.
Initially, the office was part of the portfolio of the Secretariat for Economy and Finance, before it was moved to the Secretariat for Security portfolio in October 2018.
The office is tasked with collecting and assessing information on suspected money laundering and terrorist financing, and passing its findings to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for possible follow-up action.
According to Wong, the bill proposes that the Unitary Police Service will be additionally tasked with the prevention of, and fight against, money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The bill proposes to set up a new unit, called Financial Intelligence Office, under the Unitary Police Service enabling the latter to carry out the proposed new functions and duties, Wong said.
Wong underlined that while the bill proposes that the Financial Intelligence Office will be a unit under the Unitary Police Service, the former’s operation will be independent of the latter.
Wong underlined that the bill aims to ensure that the prevention of, and fight against, the respective financial crimes would become even more efficient.
According to the SPU law, the two police forces of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), namely the Public Security Police (PSP) and the Judiciary Police (PJ), operate under the command and leadership of the Unitary Police Service.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
