May 31st
An article on “Anti-Money Laundering Regulation—A Threat to Access to Financial Services” by Martin Owen, Vice President Product Design, was published in the May issue of Policy Monitor, a publication of the Microfinance Centre (MFC) for Central & Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. The MFC is an international, grass-roots network of over 90 microfinance institutions from the region, contributing to poverty reduction and human potential development by promoting a socially oriented and sustainable microfinance sector. The article draws on Martin Owen's experience as head of the Financial Crime Policy Unit at the UK’s Financial Services Authority to discuss the risks that inappropriate and unduly burdensome anti-money laundering requirements could damage policy objectives of deepening access to financial services for persons and entities with low incomes and limited resources.

Martin Owen spoke on this subject at the Krakow III Policy Forum on Law and Regulation Governing Microfinance in Warsaw, Poland, on April 6, 2006. The forum was attended by financial sector policy-makers and top-ranking public officials from 9 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.