UAE goes hi-tech against money laundering, terror funding

The UAE has stepped up efforts against money laundering and terrorism financing by using technology and human intelligence in a big way.

Hamid Al Zaabi, director-general of the UAE Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing, said, "The inter-connectedness of international organised criminal networks, often accelerated by technological advancement, is become more sophisticated, but we are fighting back through the power of intelligence, advanced analytics, technology, investigations, and public-private partnerships.

“There is still much work to do, but we take encouragement from our progress so far.

"We have dedicated significant resources to accelerate our abilities in detecting, investigating, and understanding money laundering and terrorism financing as we advance financial crime compliance frameworks in the UAE and around the world.”

Some of the key measures taken by the government to curb money laundering and terror financing include:

Public-private partnership committee: The committee, chaired by the executive office, and comprising members from 17 government agencies and 22 private agencies will help sharpen the focus on improving investigations and prosecution in financial crimes, including intelligence sharing and analysis across the UAE and globally.

Seminars: Hosting of meetings —attended by more than 2,000 participants from the UAE economic sector, including offshore and onshore financial institutions, as well as members of designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) – to boost engagement between public and private sectors to prevent financial crime.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com