Countries on the grey list have "strategic deficiencies" in their efforts to counter money laundering and terrorist financing but are cooperating with the FATF to correct the problems and are subject to increased monitoring. In addition to the UAE, Barbados, Gibraltar and Uganda were removed from the grey list. A...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The CEO of the Royal Commission for AlUla, Eng. Amr Al-Madani, has been arrested on charges of misusing authority and money laundering involving SR206 million ($55 milion). The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) reported the arrest, stating that Al-Madani's partners in a company were also apprehended....

Binance's guilty plea is part of coordinated action including with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Department of Justice said. Its violations included its failure to prevent and report transactions with groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and...

"Nations must take action to establish measures for detecting the physical cross-border movement of currency and negotiable instruments to combat smuggling," adds Al Jabrin, stressing the need for imposing proper, deterring penalties on individuals who falsify declarations and disclosures.

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations Committee (NAMLCFTC) and UAE supervisors, issued guidance on combating the use of unlicensed virtual asset service providers. Prepared by the supervisory subcommittee, the guidance aims to educate licensed financial institutions (LFIs) and...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC) hosted a coordination meeting with relevant Saudi permanent committees on Thursday to discuss enhancing systems of countering money laundering, finance of terrorism, and proliferation. The meeting was chaired by Ayman Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and AMLPC...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- More than AED 4 billion ($1.08 billion) were confiscated during the past two years by UAE's Ministry of Interior in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies, whose combined efforts led to the arrest of 387 wanted individuals in 521 money laundering cases. Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has revoked the license of Dirham Exchange, an exchange house operating in the UAE, and struck off its name from the Register, and revoked the registration of RMB Commercial Brokers Co, a Hawaladar operating in the country. The administrative...

Lebanon's deeply divided political class has failed to agree on a replacement for Salameh, 73, creating another power vacuum in a country that also has no president and is ruled by a caretaker government. Salameh, who held the post for 30 years, is a key figure of the Lebanese political...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE is establishing federal prosecution entities specialised in economic crimes and money laundering, to develop the UAE's judicial system in line with changing global economic landscape.  The establishment of these entities also represents a first step towards investigating and cracking down on crimes such as...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - The vice-governors of Lebanon's central bank plan to resign unless politicians swiftly name an incoming governor, two senior officials at the crisis-hit country's top financial body told AFP on Thursday. The term of embattled three-decade chief Riad Salameh ends this month with no successor in sight, setting the...

US Securities and Exchange Commission did not specify how many of Binance's US customers are affected, nor the value represented by these funds. Earlier this month the SEC charged the crypto giant with securities law violations that it said amounted to "an extensive web of deception" and "calculated evasion of...

Dubai, UAE -- A total of 137 companies operating from the UAE were fined AED65.9 million for failing to comply with the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation. The Ministry of Economy fined these companies, which are operating in the UAE's non-financial business or professions (DNFBP)...

Dubai, UAE -- The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) Wednesday issued guidelines on the risks related to, and combating the use of, virtual assets (VA), such as cryptocurrencies and exchange tokens, and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in money laundering and financing of terrorism. The guideline elaborates on various...

SHARJAH, UAE - Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) organized multiple workshops for legal purposes and a number of investors and owners of economic establishments operating in the emirate attended the events. The workshops were on “Real Beneficiary Procedures and their Administrative Penalties” as well as “Anti-Money Laundering Procedures, Required Documents...

The convicts were found guilty of engaging in economic activity using the provision of credit facilities through points of sale (POS) without obtaining a license from competent authorities. The court sentenced four accused, who were present during the trial and others at large in absentia to prison ranging from five...

The three-day conference in Abu Dhabi has brought together officials from around the world to discuss the menace of money laundering and terrorism financing and how to combat it. An official from the UAE's ministry of justice affirmed the need for global partnerships and more direct contact between relevant authorities...

In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a French probe into Riad Salameh's wealth. This year, European investigators have questioned Salameh in Beirut, also hearing from a Lebanese minister, Salameh's brother Raja, and central bank audit firms.

European investigators probing Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh's wealth will question officials from two international firms previously tasked with auditing the central bank's accounts, a judicial official said. Salameh is the target of a series of judicial investigations at home and abroad on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering,...

DOHA, QATAR -  Qatari prosecutors have charged former finance minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi with bribery, money laundering and a range of corruption charges, the state news agency said Sunday. Al-Emadi, 54, was arrested in May 2021 when he was one of the most influential business executives in the Middle East. He...

Lebanon opened its probe following a request for assistance from Switzerland's public prosecutor probing more than $300 million in fund movements by Riad Salameh and his brother. Last month, Swiss media reported that 12 banks in the European country had received a large part of the money Salameh is alleged...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--UAE Banks Federation (UBF) organised a virtual workshop on combating trade-and-credit-documents-based money laundering on Wednesday. The workshop comes as part of UBF's ongoing efforts to improve frameworks and procedures necessary to develop and maintain the highest levels of compliance and risk management at member banks. The workshop was...

The guidance, which comes into effect immediately, will assist LFIs’ understanding of risks and effective implementation of their statutory AML/CFT obligations, and takes Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards into account. The Guidance requires LFIs to demonstrate compliance with its requirements.

The United States has charged Bankman-Fried with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and election finance violations. Prosecutors allege he cheated investors and misused funds that belonged to FTX and Alameda Research customers. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all eight counts against him -- five of which carry a maximum sentence...

Baghdad, Iraq--The Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani has stressed the need for economic reform and supporting the sectors of agriculture, industry, tourism and trade. The prime minister highlighted the need to fortify Iraq, in order for it not to be a passage for smuggling hard currency and money...

Abu Dhabi, UAE---The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued a new guidance on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) for the Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) in the insurance sector comprising insurance and re-insurance companies, agents and brokers. The guidance, which comes into effect immediately, will...

The apex bank "will continue to take all measures to ensure the maintenance of the integrity of the financial system and ensure the compatibility of all financial transactions in the UAE to the requirements guaranteed by the system of registered hawala brokers,” he adds.

A noted Lebanese actor Stephanie Saliba was briefly detained by authorities in Lebanon in connection with a money laundering case. The actor was questioned as a witness in a corruption probe involving the country's central bank governor. She had failed to appear for previous summons in the case.

Bank to pay fine on money laundering, tax fraud charges.

Argentine authorities seized 1.6 tons of cocaine hidden in animal feed destined for Dubai and detained 12 people, police said on Friday.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghalib, received the US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, and her accompanying delegation.

Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Adel Sharkas said that terror financing is a threat to national economies, adding the Kingdom is committed to combating the menace.

The Ministry of Economy (MoE) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), in partnership with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), have announced new regulations aimed at certain real estate transactions conducted in the UAE.

The heads of UAE and Egypt's anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing and the UN's representative for drugs and crime in the region discussed about the two countries efforts in cooperating with each other to deal with such crimes.

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued new guidance on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for its Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) on the risks related to Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) or those who hold a prominent public position or function.. The guidance will help...

Investigators searched the offices of Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank on Friday, prosecutors said, with the focus on the bank's anti-money-laundering activities. The raid was linked to "suspicious activity reports filed by the bank" in relation to money-laundering, Deutsche Bank said in a statement.

"The criminal reconciliation decree feeds impunity and hides the truth," 34 organizations said in a joint statement.

Prosecutors are probing links Lebanon's central bank chief's link to criminal associations and money laundering.

France, Germany and Luxembourg have seized properties and frozen assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a major operation linked to money laundering in Lebanon, the EU's justice agency said Monday. "Five properties in Germany and France were seized as well as several bank accounts," were frozen, Eurojust said...

A Lebanese judge Monday charged central bank chief Riad Salameh with "illicit enrichment" and money laundering after he failed to attend a court hearing for the fifth time, a judicial source told AFP. Judge Ghada Aoun also charged Salameh's brother Raja with "facilitating money laundering" after he was arrested last...

A Lebanese judge on Thursday arrested the brother of Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, both of whom are suspected of embezzlement and money laundering, judicial sources said. Judge Ghada Aoun arrested Raja Salameh "after questioning him for three hours", a court official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Riad Salameh...

Mexican cartels are estimated to have used bitcoin to launder $25 billion a year in Mexico alone, according to a UN-linked body.

The MoU was signed in Riyadh between Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah Al-Mujib with Algerian Algerian Minister of Justice Abdul Rashid Tabbi.

The UAE is the latest country to be added to the list, and will have to work closely with the FATF to get off it.

UAE authorities have collected AED3.848 billion ($1 billion) in penalties from anti-money laundering and terrorism financing offenders in 2021. The amount comprised asset seizures worth $625m, fines for non-compliance to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations worth $64m, penalties on major financial institutions in the UAE worth $5.3m, tax evasion...

No Swiss news media took part in the investigation against Credit Suisse due to the risk of criminal prosecution in the country. While Switzerland's secrecy laws have largely been dismantled for the banks, they have been tightened for the media, making it an offence to reveal leaked banking information.

The region’s financial regulators must be extra vigilant to avoid catastrophic debt crises, Khalid Abdulla-Janahi, chairman of Vision 3, UAE, tells TRENDS

A top law official in the UAE has detailed several cases where the judicial system fined and jailed people for financial irregularities, and recovered sums to the tune of millions of dirhams from them. Many such people were also deported.

Several European countries said late on Saturday they had received no official notification from Turkey, while the US said it was aware of the situation.

Last few years have seen a lot of tension between governments and central banks around the world, on the one hand, and investors in digital currencies, on the other, as the conflict escalated after cryptocurrencies hit record highs, especially with the rise of the Bitcoin.