Dr Marcus Pleyer has retired as the chief of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). His replacement is Singaporean T. Raja Kumar who is set to serve a two-year term.
The new chief is set to harness his energy towards focussing on enhancing the effectiveness of global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures, improving asset recovery and other initiatives.
“Kumar has been a passionate advocate for the global terror financing watchdog and firmly believes in its mission and ability to make a global difference. He has led Singapore’s delegation at the FATF since 2015,” FATF said in a statement.
According to the Hindu, Raja Kumar holds an LLB (Hons.) degree from the National University of Singapore, and a Master of Philosophy (Criminology & Law) from Cambridge University. Kumar also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 2006.
The new FATF chief has held top roles in ministry of home affairs in Singapore and the Singapore Police Force. He has served for more that 35 years in various capacities. Raja Kumar is senior advisor (International) in the country’s home affairs ministry.
The Hindu added that, he was deputy secretary (International) at the ministry from January 2015 to July 2021 and was concurrently the chief executive of the Home Team Academy between 2014 to 2018.
Raja Kumar was also a former deputy commissioner of police (Policy). He also served as director of the Police Intelligence Department, and senior deputy director of the Commercial Affairs Department.
He has also served in the capacity of Casino Regulatory Authority’s pioneer executive. During the time, he introduced a robust regulatory framework for new casinos in Singapore.
