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The governance of financial markets is approached at various levels. National regulators are charged with the responsibility for maintaining a system of regulation for the purpose of ensuring stability and confidence in the financial markets. This has to be done according to ascertainable standards. Within the European Union, directives and regulations provide a framework for approximating practices within its member states. At the international level, organisations such as the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have developed standards and guidelines with the view to harmonising practices among relevant states.

The spectacular performance of the US financial market in recent years, the financial crises in South‐East Asia and Russia and the collapse of one of the most established merchant banks in the world are landmark events in economic history that have prompted concerns around the globe. The advent of the information age and globalisation means that the consequences of these events are felt more readily and extensively than ever before. Sustainability of financial growth and avoidance of future crises raise questions with a common denominator — good governance. With one of the principal financial centres in the world, it is trite to suggest that the need for good governance in the UK cannot be overstated. Protecting investors against abusive and fraudulent practices in the financial services industry has always assumed great importance. Since its emergence as an international financial and trading centre in the 13th century, the City of London has consistently emphasised the values of market confidence and integrity. In the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is currently being read in Parliament, it is stated that its object is to maintain confidence in the financial markets, to promote public awareness and understanding, to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers through recognising the different degree of risks involved in different transactions and the different degrees of expertise and experience of different consumers, and to reduce the extent to which financial undertakings are used for the furtherance of financial crime.

This paper aims to share experience in the design and implementation of a two-year capacity development program for combating money laundering and financing of terrorism in Mongolia.

The paper reflects the experience of the authors in the design and implementation of the program with inputs from their counterparts in Mongolia.

The program outcomes and the level of collaboration are generally positive, and the authorities and the Asian Development Bank agreed on a two-year extension of the program to further the progress made.

The authors hope to share key reflections from the program for the purpose of other similar programs or studies in the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40+9 Recommendations have been implemented by developing countries from the Asia‐Pacific region and the issues pertaining to these countries.

The paper uses the compliance ratings from published reports of assessments/mutual evaluations for these countries between 2004 and 2010 and makes comparisons with the ratings for FATF countries for that period.

These developing countries have demonstrated positive developments in addressing anti‐money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements and having their level of compliance evaluated through the rigorous process of assessment/mutual evaluation. Nonetheless, the general level of compliance is quite limited, not least when compared with FATF countries. This may be due to complexities of the FATF 40+9 Recommendations, challenges in prioritizing AML/CFT development amidst other national priorities and general limited capacity in these countries. An appreciation of the challenges faced by these countries is essential in the formulation and implementation of AML/CFT measures for these countries.

This paper considers implementation of international standards for AML/CFT from the perspective of developing countries, which is an important contribution given the needs and peculiarities of these countries.

This paper seeks to examine the extent to which Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Special Recommendations and UN Security Council Resolutions on the financing of terrorism have been implemented by countries and the legal issues relating to the implementation of these requirements.

It uses the findings from a review of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which is based on a sample of 18 countries that were assessed on their compliance with the FATF 40 + 9 Recommendations (which include the FATF Special Recommendations and UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1373) between March 2004 and August 2005.

It analyses the extent to which the FATF Special Recommendations and UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1373 have been implemented, and in particular, the areas which countries have difficulties in complying fully with the requirements and related issues. It also discusses the difficulties with applying international law instruments such as UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1373 where measures were aimed at non‐state actors and their assets, as well as the need for ensuring that persons affected by these measures have adequate legal recourses.

In countering the financing of terrorism, the paper discusses the design of a new international legal framework, which requires development of new concepts. It suggests that, by addressing the legal challenges created by these new concepts, the latter can be further refined, improved and strengthened.

In recent times, there has been some disquiet within certain sectors of the Singapore business community over the role of auditors in detecting corporate fraud. The cause of this concern can perhaps be attributed partly to the Barings collapse in February 1995 and the subsequent suggestions that the auditors of the Barings subsidiary in Singapore, Barings Futures Singapore Pte Ltd (BFS), may have been negligent in their audit work. More recently, in mid‐1996, a substantial locally listed company, Amcol Holdings Ltd (Amcol), was placed under judicial management amid rumours alleging possible misdeeds by senior executives and directors. The Amcol saga has, once again, focused some attention on the role of auditors and their duty to detect fraud in company accounts.

In order to achieve competitive advantage over the physical marketplace, the e-retailers are insisted on endowing with lenient return policies. The piece-wise returns-and-reordering process incurs excessive buffering and unwanted logistics costs which raises overall fulfillment charges. The objective of this study is to re-design e-retail distribution policy by providing temporal storage at logistics service provides' (LSP) location. The impact of recurrent returns on pricing and profit margins are also investigated over time continuum.

A framework is developed to reduce the non-value added (NVA) storage and distribution efforts by providing collaborative buffering between LSP and e-retailer. The knapsack based buffering approach is tested and compared with traditional e-retail distribution practices. The revenue sharing concept is mathematically modelled and implemented in GAMS, which finally validated through multiple return scenarios.

The proposed model outperforms the existing one under all scenarios with different configuration settings of re-ordering, profit margins, and buffer time windows. The distribution cost is found, linearly related to the necessary product buffering space. The findings help to re-design sustainable return policies for individual products so that maximum customer value can be yield with minimum costs.

This study helps to determine the NVA efforts incurred while storing and delivering multi-time returned products to ensure desired service levels. The revenue sharing model provides pricing strategies for e-retail practitioners deciding which product should store in what quantity for how much time at the shipping agency location so that it fulfils the re-ordering at least waiting and sufficient buffering.

The proposed model extends the role of LPSs as temporary buffer providers to reduce returns-and-reordering fulfilment efforts in the e-retail network. This Collaborative framework offers an opportunity to amend the distribution contracts and policies time by time that enhances e-retailer's performance and customer satisfaction.