Africa-Press – Mauritius. The International Graduate Diploma in Financial Crime Compliance, a joint initiative of the Open University of Mauritius (OUM) and the Financial Services Institute Ltd (FSI), was launched this afternoon by the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr. Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, at the Financial Services Commission (FSC) House, in Ebène.
In his address, the Financial Services Minister underlined that the joint initiative is another testimony of the combined efforts of the concerned institutions to enhance the Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness of our people serving across sectors of the economy.
Today’s event, he underlined, attests to the fact that we are acting so that the Effectiveness of our AML/CFT System prevails at all times. He expressed confidence that this “First of Its Kind Diploma” will become a flagship qualification not only for Mauritius but also for the region thereby putting steam to Government’s policy of strengthening the position of Mauritius as a Knowledge Hub.
Minister Seeruttun pointed out that the home-grown qualification, Made in Moris, is tailored around the requirements of international standard setters and our regulatory authorities.
This qualification, he emphasised, will go a very long way in creating structured career pathways for professionals thereby increasing the Image, Stature and Attractiveness of Compliance as a Profession.
Moreover, Mr. Mahen Seeruttun underscored the need of further professionalising our workforce in this most compelling area of Financial Crime Compliance.
As we progress into the new era of growth amidst a dynamic business landscape, our continued success will be greatly influenced by our ability to harness our intellectual capital, he stressed.
He observed that the FATF experience has made our institutions Inter-Dependent as opposed to Independent and stressed that we are witnessing an interesting transition to a reformed environment which hinges on a culture of collaboration and sharing of intelligence for effective Identification, Prosecution and Conviction of criminals, and Freezing of criminal proceeds.
Furthermore, the Financial Services Minister dwelt on the importance of having a well-trained workforce, skilled and competent people to detect and escalate delinquent and suspicious behaviours, to identify and flag riskier customers, to understand the risk-based approach, new typologies and risks and essentially to make AML/CFT Systems Effective and Sustainable.
Also present on the occasion, the Director-General of the OUM, Dr Kaviraj Sharma Sukon, said that through this joint initiative, the cooperation is being enlisted to ensure that the awareness campaign against financial crimes is strengthened.
The Financial services sector is becoming more and more complex and we need to train people to have full complain, he averred. The OUM, he recalled, has been developing various courses with the FSI to empower people to deal with financial crimes and pointed out that the Graduate Diploma is the fourth one.
As for the Chief Executive of the FSC, Mr. Dhanesswurnath Thakoor, he stated that the certification will go a long way towards ensuring competencies standards within this area and will then be able to export our services to the region.
He recalled that compliance is a virtue of any respected institution and stressed that it needs to adhere to laws, rules, regulations and guidelines to be fully complaint.
On that note, he emphasised on the need to impart financial education to all those involved in the financial sector. This, he said, is for the betterment of our financial industry.
Furthermore, he recalled that Mauritius exited the FATF Grey list in October 2021 and the UK Blacklist in November 2021 and said that the FSC is hopeful to officially exit the EU Blacklist during the course of this month.
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