April 7th
Martin Owen, Vice President Product Design, spoke on 7 April 2006 at the two-day international Krakow III Policy Forum on Law and Regulation Governing Microfinance on 'Policy reforms that potentially constrain access - Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism'.

The Forum was organized by the Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. Participants were senior policymakers from parliaments, governments, central banks and microfinance institutions, and other microfinance experts, from 9 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.). Sponsors of the Forum included the World Bank-based Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and USAID.

Martin Owen drew on his 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 the recognized policy objectives of deepening access to financial services for persons and entities with low incomes and limited resources.