What are Sanctions?
Under sections 14 and 15 of PNG’s United Nations Financial Sanctions Act 2015, sanctions are prohibitions on:
- dealing with assets belonging to or owned, held or controlled (directly or indirectly) by a designated person or entity (‘asset freezes’) and,
- making assets or financial services available directly or indirectly to, or for the benefit of, a designated person or entity
The PNG Sanctions Secretariat (Secretariat) is housed within the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (PM&NEC) under the Office of Security Coordination and Assessment (OSCA).
The NEC endorsed the establishment of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) in 2014.
The Secretariat under the Department of PM&NEC is a member of the NCC for AML/CTF.
Money laundering and terrorist financing are criminal activities that can have severe economic consequences. These crimes have the potential to undermine the integrity and stability of PNG’s financial institutions and systems and discourage foreign investment. Money launderers and terrorist financiers are particularly attracted to countries with weak AML/CTF frameworks, where they can more easily move their money through financial systems without detection and disruption.
Strong and effective AML/CTF regimes are essential to protect the integrity of domestic and global financial systems, as they help mitigate the factors that facilitate financial abuse.