UAE holds roundtable to boost collaboration in combatting financial crime

Executive office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism's discussion emphasises robust public-private partnerships

The UAE has made significant progress in combatting money laundering, the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation over the past few years. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The UAE’s executive office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism has held a roundtable discussion on public-private partnerships and ways to boost collaboration to combat financial crime.

Conducted in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute's Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme in the UK, roundtable participants discussed various issues such as best practices to share insights and experiences in the development of public-private partnerships.

Officials from the public-private partnership committees in partner countries in Europe and Asia delivered online presentations on co-operation initiatives focused on confronting financial crime.

Senior members of the UAE’s Public-Private Partnership Sub-Committee and the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit also participated in the discussion.

The committee has developed into an important part of the Emirates’ national strategy to counter financial crime, said Mohamed Shalo, committee chairman and director of communications and strategic partnerships at the executive office of AML/CFT.

“The role of the private sector is critical in helping authorities gain deeper insights and better understanding of criminal typologies and how to identify and stop financial crime,” he added.

“To increase effectiveness in this area, the UAE is preparing legislation that will facilitate the flow of strategic and tactical information through the PPPSC.”

The UAE has made significant progress in combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation over the past few years.

Last month, the Emirates fined six companies Dh3.2 million ($871,000) for breaching provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing law, as the Arab world’s second-largest economy continues to rein in illegal financial activity.

More than 40 compliance and risk professionals representing financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions based in the UAE also participated in the roundtable discussion.

“The UAE is committed to enhancing policies to support collaboration between the public and private sectors,” said Nick Maxwell, head of the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme, which leads independent research into the role of public-private and private-private financial information-sharing to detect, disrupt and prevent crime.

“This roundtable provided a unique opportunity to share relevant experiences and insights from countries that have created collaboration initiatives to combat financial crime, helping to draw out the latest lessons from international practices in this area.”

The executive office of AML/CFT and Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme have agreed to convene an in-person event later in the year.