Media ININ Economy We Trust
Abu Dhabi, August 2, The Ministry of Economy, represented by the Anti-Money Laundering Department, participated in a workshop of the International Monetary Fund entitled “Risk-Based Control for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Companies and Institutions Operating in the Business Sectors and Designated Non-Financial Professions.”
The workshop aims to launch a project to support the preparation of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region for a mutual evaluation of the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism system, by providing training workshops and technical assistance in this regard.
Safia Al-Safi, Director of the Money Laundering Department at the Ministry of Economy, confirmed that the UAE has made great strides in developing an integrated and advanced system to confront money laundering crimes and combat terrorist financing in accordance with international best practices, and has also achieved advanced stages towards implementing the highest levels of compliance, noting that the ministry’s participation in This workshop comes within its keenness to enhance cooperation and exchange of experiences with its partners at the regional and global levels, thus contributing to the consolidation of a sustainable national system to combat money laundering.
During her participation in the workshop, Al-Safi presented a working paper, which included the efforts of the Ministry of Economy to find an integrated work system for effective control of specific non-financial business sectors and professions in the country, whether at the level of organizational aspects and the structure of the Ministry’s Anti-Money Laundering Department for this file, or at the level of technical tasks that It is summarized in building policies, procedures, detailed guides, and training and awareness workshops.
The paper also included the plan developed by the Ministry to assess and classify risks in the business sectors and non-financial professions, and to carry out field and office inspection campaigns based on advanced technical infrastructure, in addition to the Ministry’s efforts to apply administrative penalties to violators, as well as continuous cooperation and institutional coordination with the supervisory authorities and to strengthen International cooperation to exchange more experiences and information.
The IMF workshop focused on the core issues of the third direct outcome of the FATF methodology for assessing technical compliance and effectiveness related to combating money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, which includes many axes, including legislation and regulations for assessing countries’ compliance with national legislation and regulations. and international procedures related to combating money laundering, and assessing the effectiveness of policies and procedures followed by countries to address money laundering crimes, including identifying risks, verifying the identity of customers and assessing risks, and the supervisory authorities concerned with evaluating the institutional and legal framework of institutions involved in combating money laundering and the extent of their risk-based control capabilities in Implementing policies and procedures effectively, and enhancing international cooperation, which includes assessing the extent of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between countries and with FATF and other international organizations, particularly the International Monetary Fund, in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
