Monetary Authority announces pact with PBOC Tuesday

The Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday distributed the following note on behalf of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) to the media:
“In accordance with the recommendations advocated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on cross border regulatory cooperation, the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) entered into the “Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing” (“MoU”). The AMCM and the PBOC, in line with the relevant laws and regulations of the Macao SAR and the Mainland respectively, as well as the standards of the FATF, shall strengthen the exchange of regulatory information and the cooperation in the relevant aspects of supervision.”
In the short, laconic communiqué, the AMCM said it “has been exerting efforts in enforcing the prevention of activities of money laundering and terrorist financing. The implementation of the MoU shall further enhance and strengthen the management of the prevailing supervisory system to prevent the activities of money laundering and terrorist financing in the financial sector of the Macao SAR.”
No further details were disclosed. The MoU was first disclosed discretely and unilaterally late last Friday on the official website of the PBOC. Macau Daily Times and other media reported on the pact, raising issues about the legitimacy of the AMCM to disclose personal sensitive data to an entity from an alien jurisdiction.