AML Compliance Assessment Consultant

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, ROLI

TERMS OF REFERENCE

ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is a non-profit pro­gram focusing on legal reform in roughly 50 countries around the world.  ABA ROLI has nearly 400 professional staff work­ing internationally. ABA ROLI’s partners include judges, lawyers, bar associations, law schools, court administrators, legislatures, ministries of justice and a wide array of civil society organi­zations. 

PROJECT BACKGROUND

With funding of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL), ABA ROLI is implementing a 36-month (from September 30, 2020 to September 30, 2023) Transnational Anti-Money Laundering Assistance Program - Disrupting Money Laundering through Gambling (‘DMLG’). The DMLG aims to generate multi-jurisdictional support for a common vision for enhancing the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime in the casino sector in the Greater Mekong Subregion including Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The program has four sub-objectives including:

1. Work with regulators and lawmakers to ensure jurisdictions have appropriate legal frameworks in place to regulate casinos and online gambling, with regard to measures to prevent, detect, and report money laundering,?according to international standards, and facilitate the crafting of legislation in selected countries;
2. Build capacity of?competent regulators?to?understand,?appropriately identify, and detect?money laundering?by developing the Assessment Handbook or the Handbook for practitioners in casinos and online gambling sector;
3. Help the competent authority in selected country to conduct outreach sessions with casinos, specifically increasing awareness of: a) who reports; b) expectations and c) how to appropriately file STRs;
4. Work with company compliance officers and managers to ensure they are appropriately filing STRs with regulators, tracking money laundering threats, trends, and vulnerabilities, cooperating as appropriate with law enforcement officials,?and taking any other necessary compliance measures.? Gather feedback from regulators as to whether there is improved quality in compliance and develop follow-up actions accordingly.

As part of the sub-objective 1, ABA ROLI is working to develop a Casino Sector AML Compliance Assessment Tool (“Assessment Tool”) for the Greater Mekong Subregion. This concise, check-list style, Assessment Tool will?help to?evaluate a country’s laws and regulations governing AML?in general, and?particular?in the casino and online gaming sector, for compliance with the FATF Recommendations. The checklist will include a list of FATF recommendations and indicators of legislative / regulatory compliance with those recommendations (it is a tool to be used for a?de jure?or textual analysis of laws and regulations currently on the books as they relate to the FATF Recommendations).  

To ensure its reality, the assessment tool will be developed in consultation with AML experts as well as the ABA ROLI’s stakeholders in target countries. In Vietnam, ABA ROLI and the national consultant will be partnering with the Ministry of Finance, as the lead regulator of the Casino and prize-winning game sector, the State Bank of Vietnam as the lead AML government agency and FIU, and other relevant competent agencies to seek feedback on the draft Assessment Tool.

To this end, ABA ROLI, in coordination with local partners, will engage a qualified consultant to pilot the Casino Sector AML Compliance Assessment Tool (“Assessment Tool”) by conducting a Casino sector AML Compliance Assessment in Vietnam with objectives, expected outputs and other requirements as specified herewith.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Under the DMLG, the Consultant will be responsible for getting feedback and inputs from ministries and agencies on the Draft of AML Compliance Assessment Tool, carrying out a pilot assessment in Vietnam, producing a report outlining deficiencies and gaps in the legal framework or regulatory measures to control ML in casinos, aligning national laws with international standards, and drawing legal/regulatory provisions to address gaps or deficiencies identified; making proposals to appropriate levels by organizing workshop and disseminating the outputs/ findings/recommendations to lawmakers and policymakers.

SCOPE OF WORK AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Subject to further discussion between the consultant and ABA ROLI DMLG Program Director in Vietnam, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Task 1: Provide comments on the Draft of Assessment Tool by getting feedback and inputs from relevant ministries and agencies
  
  • Get feedback from relevant agencies and ministries on the draft of the Assessment Tool (by coordinating with agencies or organizing roundtable discussion)
  • Provide comments on the Draft of the Assessment Tool
• Task 2: Carry out a compliance assessment using the Casino Sector AML Compliance Assessment tool.   
  
  • Develop outline of the assessment report in consultation with ABA ROLI  
  • Review and study the existing laws and regulations on anti- money laundering regarding the casino and prize-winning game sector in Vietnam
  • Coordinate and consult with key AML and casino regulators/supervisors and casino operators (if any) during the assessment.
  • Carry out the compliance assessment using the Assessment Tool.
• Task 3: Produce the Assessment report and summarize the assessment results outlining deficiencies and gaps in the legal framework or regulatory measures to control ML in casino sector in Vietnam.
  
  • Draft the assessment report in accordance with the outline set out and agreed with ABA ROLI   
  • Incorporate feedback from ABA ROLI and its key partners (if any) and finalize the report.
  • Summarize the assessment results outlining deficiencies and gaps in the legal framework or regulatory measures to control ML in casino sector in Vietnam.
• Task 4: Draft model/amendment legal/regulatory provisions to address gaps or deficiencies identified in the assessment report
  
  • Provide a set of recommendations as a part or as an annex to the Assessment report to address gaps or deficiencies identified in the assessment report
  • Draft model/amendment legal/regulatory provisions to propose amendment or issuance of new legal/regulatory provisions to lawmakers and policymakers.
• Task 5: Participate in and deliver findings/ recommendations/draft of new regulations/provisions at a half-day roundtable discussion workshop/seminar on compliance assessment for AML and casino stakeholders  
  
  • In coordination with ABA ROLI and key partners, organize/participate in the half-day roundtable discussion workshop/seminar on compliance assessment for AML and casino stakeholders 
  • Deliver findings/ recommendations/draft of new regulations at a half-day roundtable discussion workshop/seminar
  • Revise/amend the Assessment Report/recommendations/draft of the legal or regulatory provisions (if comments in the workshop/seminar are reasonable)
  • Make proposal to appropriate authorities to amend/revise legal/regulatory provisions
• Other tasks as required by ABA ROLI related to the assessment to ensure the effectiveness of the activity.

KEY DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT

Payment will be made based on the following milestones upon submission of the corresponding deliverables to the satisfaction of ABA ROLI.

PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The consultant will commence the above tasks from the signing date on the contract and end when all key deliverables are completed and confirmed by ABA ROLI DMLG Program Director, no later than October 31, 2022.

REPORTING AND PROGRESS CONTROL

The consultant is accountable to ABA ROLI on the timeliness and quality of deliverables. The consultant will report to ABA ROLI (and MOF/SBV) about work progress on a regular basis. ABA ROLI will provide overall coordination among different stakeholders, facilitating the consultant’s contact with Government officials to seek consultations with the relevant government partners (MOF, SBV, etc…).

Reporting and progress updates:

• Upon contract signing, the consultant will work closely with ABA ROLI Program Director to discuss and agree on the task requirements and working methodology;
• ABA ROLI (and relevant stakeholders) will review and comment on the consultant’s required deliverables as specified in this TOR;
• ABA ROLI shall disburse instalments to the consultants against the payment milestones set out above.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The consultant should meet the following minimum requirements:

• A post-graduate or equivalent qualification/degree in Law/economics/finance
• A minimum of 07 years of legal/regulatory experience, preferably in casinos and prize-winning games sector
• Extensive knowledge of Vietnam AML regime, existing laws as well as international standards on anti-money laundering, preferably AML in casinos and prize-winning games sector
• Strong background in reseach and writing
• Proven experience in delivering/facilitating stakeholder/working group consultations/workshops and working with relevant government agencies.
• Working experience in dealing with AML issues is advantage
• Proficiency in written English is advantage.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please send a resume/CV and cover letter describing your relevant experience to Tran Ngoc Linh at the email address: [email protected] [1]