The APG meets on a regular basis, generally twice each year. The APG's two regular meetings are:

• Annual Meeting; and
• Typologies Workshop.

The APG also convenes Working Groups from time to time to examine specific issues of importance to the APG membership.  For instance, the Implementation Issues Working Group meets on an as-required basis to identify stumbling blocks to effective implementation of the global AML/CFT standards and to devise strategies to overcome those impediments. There is a separate tab with information on this Working Group under the "Implementation Issues" button at the top of this page.

Annual Meetings

The APG's Terms of Reference provide that the APG will meet at least once each year. In practice, due mainly to cost considerations, the APG has held plenary meetings (general meetings of all members) only once a year since its inception. Meetings are usually held at the same time each year (middle of the calendar year) and are attended by senior officials from member and observer jurisdictions as well as observer organisations.

The purpose of annual meetings is to discuss the APG's strategic directions and work program. Discussions cover issues such as:

• structure and operation of the APG (including its Terms of Reference, planning issues, budget etc);
• mutual evaluations of members;
• implementation issues of members;
• technical assistance and training issues;
• money laundering methods and counter-measures; and 
• special issues and developments of significance to members.

Invitations to Annual Meetings may be extended to other non-member jurisdictions and organisations to attend as observers. Meetings are generally open to observers, however some parts of a meeting may be limited to members only to enable the APG to conduct formal consideration of issues which are confidential and require the agreement of its members.

The Terms of Reference also state that to ensure a global approach to anti-money laundering, members of the APG will work closely with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF Secretariat attends APG meetings on the same basis that the APG Secretariat attends FATF meetings.

Eleven annual meetings have been held since the APG's formation:

• First Annual Meeting, Tokyo, Japan, March 1998;
  
• Second Annual Meeting, Manila, The Philippines, August 1999;
  
• Third Annual Meeting, Sydney, Australia, June 2000;
  
• Fourth Annual Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 2001;
  
• Fifth Annual Meeting, Brisbane, Australia, June 2002;
  
• Sixth Annual Meeting, Macau, China, September 2003;
  
• Seventh Annual Meeting, Seoul, Korea, June 2004;
• Eight Annual Meeting, Cairns, Australia, July 2005;
• Ninth Annual Meeting, Manila, The Philipines, July 2006;
  
• Tenth Annual Meeting, Perth, Australia, July 2007;
• Eleventh Annual Meeting, Bali, Indonesia, July 2008.

Summaries of those meetings can be found in APG Annual Reports under "APG Documents" on this website.

The Twelfth APG Annual Meeting will be held in Brisbane, Australia in July 2009.  More information about this meeting will be found at the homepage under "events" closer to this time of this meeting.

APG Typologies Workshops

In order to effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing, governments, law makers, officials and the private sector need to understand and keep pace with the various and evolving methods used to launder money and to finance terrorism. 

Yearly typologies workshops are held by the APG to bring together experts and APG delegates to discuss money laundering and terrorist financing trends as well as policy issues emerging from those trends. These workshops generally have topical 'themes' to provide a focus for the discussion and have five main purposes - to:

• bring together expert law enforcement and regulators experts in order to share knowledge and experience;
  
• identify the current ways by which proceeds of crime are laundered and terrorism is funded in the Asia/Pacific region;
  
• determine any emerging money laundering and terrrorist financing trends or patterns within and between jurisdictions in the Asia/Pacific region;
  
• consider and make recommendations about money laundering and terrorist financing counter-measures; and
  
• consider ways to improve international co-operation in the detection, investigation and seizure terrorist finances and proceeds of crime, and where appropriate, the repatriation of the proceeds of crime, especially when the proceeds are transmitted to other jurisdictions.
  

Ten APG Typologies Workshops have been held since the APG's formation in 1997:

• Wellington, New Zealand, October 1998;
• Tokyo, Japan, March 1999;
• Bangkok, Thailand, March 2000;
• Singapore, October 2001;
• Vancouver, Canada, October 2002;
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 2003;
• Brunei Darussalam, October 2004;
• Nadi, Fiji, October, 2005;
• Jakarta, Indonesia, 2006;
• Bangkok, Thailand, 2007 (jointly with FATF).

Summary reports of these typologies workshops are located under "APG Documents" on the website and can also be found in APG annual reports.

The next Typologies Workshop will be held in Columbo, Sri Lanka in November 2008.