The Minister of Justice, Sérgio de Jesus Fernandes da Costa Hornai, chaired a meeting at the Ministry of Justice on September 16th 2024, in his capacity as Co chair of the National Comission for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (CNCBC), with the aim of approving strategic issues related to Timor-Leste’s participation in the next annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), which will take place in Abu Dhabi between september 22nd and 27th 2024.
During the meeting, the second Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) was presented, which Timor-Leste will submit to the APG plenary session. This evaluation, the first since 2012, aims to demonstrate Timor-Leste’s political and legislative commitment to preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing, reaffirming the country’s firm commitment to meeting international standards in this area. 
In his speech, the Minister of Justice emphasized this presentation is an important opportunity to show the significant progress that Timor-Leste has made in recent years in combating these criminal practices, namely with the production of legislation and the creation of institutions, such as the Criminal Investigation Police, which work in this area.
The Director of the Financial Information Unit, Maria Sarmento, in her capacity as Coordinator of the national team responsible for the Mutual Evaluation Report, gave a detailed presentation of the main topics that will be discussed at the APG plenary session. These include the establishment of the Bar Association, police cooperation in criminal investigations against acts of terrorism, the supervision of non-profit and for-profit organisations, as well as issues related to casino and statistical data.
It was also announced that the Governor of the Central Bank of Timor-Leste, Helder Lopes, will lead the timorese delegation during the APG meeting in Abu Dhabi, where he will present national results in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Benjamin de Araújo e Corte-Real, from the Finacial Intelligence Unit, and Nelinho Vital, from the Ministry of Justice, were appointed to represent Timor-Leste at the ASEAN Working Group on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorrism Financing, which will also meet in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting was attended by members of the CNCBC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Criminal Investigation Police, the Central Bank, the Civil Service Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Anti Corruption Commission, the National Police of Timor-Leste, the Financial Intelligence Unit and SERVE IP.