ABU DHABI — The UAE has made significant strides in developing an integrated and advanced ecosystem to address money laundering crimes in line with international best practices and has also achieved the highest levels of compliance, said Safia Al Safi, Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department, Ministry of Economy..
The Ministry of Economy, Represented by the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Department, has participated in a workshop organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), titled “The application of AML/CFT risk-based approach on companies operating within the Designated Non-financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) sector”.
Al Safi was speaking at the workshop aimed to prepare MENA countries for the mutual assessment of the AML/CFT ecosystem by organising training workshops and providing technical assistance in this regard.
She said that the Ministry’s participation in this workshop forms part of its commitment to fostering regional and international cooperation and facilitating the exchange of expertise with partners, thus contributing to establishing a sustainable national AML ecosystem.
During her participation in the workshop, the Director of AML Department presented a worksheet highlighting the Ministry of Economy’s efforts in creating an integrated work ecosystem for efficient control over the country’s DNFBP sector. It detailed the organisational aspects and structure of the Ministry’s AML Department, the technical duties to develop detailed policies, procedures, evidence, and training and awareness workshops.
Moreover, the sheet highlighted the Ministry of Economy’s plan to assess and classify risks in the DNFBP sector and conduct field and workspace inspections based on an advanced technical infrastructure. It also detailed the Ministry’s efforts in applying administrative sanctions on violators, ongoing cooperation and institutional coordination with the supervisory authorities and the facilitation of international cooperation to exchange more experience and information.
The IMF workshop focused on the core issues of the third direct results of the FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems, which entails several axes.
These include the legislation and regulations to assess countries’ compatibility with AML/CFT national and international legislation and regulations, the effectiveness of national policies and procedures in addressing money-laundering crimes, such as risk identification, customer ID verification, and risk assessment.
The methodology also addresses supervisory bodies for assessing the institutional and legal framework for dealing with AML institutions and their risk-based control capabilities in effectively implementing policies and procedures. In addition, it covered the strengthening of international cooperation, which included an assessment of the extent of countries’ collaboration with one another and with FATF and other international organisations, notably the International Monetary Fund, in anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism.