Ezequiel Freitas – The US Ambassador to Timor-Leste Judith R. Fergin says there is a big risk of organized crime, money laundering and financial terrorism in Timor-Leste.
Ambassador Fergin made these statements at a seminar about money laundering and combating corruption. She said based on its current size the Timorese economy could bring about money laundering.
"The land and maritime borders also give an alternative way for criminals to easily move between nations," said Ambassador Fergin in Dili.
She explained money laundering did not just come from other nations, but citizens from within the country could also launder money. She said the process of laundering money could also create a black market for things like human trafficking, illegal gambling and drugs.
"Experience in other nations shows that combating crimes like money laundering and corruption is not just the work of one agency alone, but it needs the collaboration of all agencies like the police, the community and the judiciary within the nation," she said.
Meanwhile, the Director of FOTI Timor-Leste, Eduardo Flores Trejo said USA FOTI was an international organization that partnered with the Timor-Leste government to implement activities promoting accountability and combating corruption.
"The event today was to respond to these objectives using the specialists we have, initiatives we can debate and instruments we can use to combat offences like money laundering," said Director Trejo.
He said there was the possibility that witnesses on a legal board in Timor-Leste could combat it through discussion.
At the same place, the Vice Minister of Justice Ivo Valente said the fifth constitutional government was commitment to combating crimes like this. "We know the efforts we've so far made have not been good enough and we still count on international support," said the Vice Minister.
He said as Timor-Leste was in a phase of construction, there would be big consequences for the future if it becomes a place for people to get involved in crime, money laundering or terrorism.
The government has sent a lot of Timorese masters students to attend training in Portugal, Brazil and other European nations in order to build the capacity of human resources in this area.
"We also learn from some of our friends from other nations, like the United States of America, and we hope that we can implement what we learn in our daily work," Vice Minister Valente said.
On July 16 the Council of Ministers held an in-depth discussion and analysis about establishing a Financial Information Unit, to look into financial transactions suspected of coming from an illegal paths.
"Our embassy has cooperates well with the nations we work with and they also need some information from the justice sector," he said.