UAE strengthens regulatory framework to fight money laundering

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The UAE has strengthened its regulatory and legislative framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, said Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq.

“Money laundering is a global concern for the integrity and stability of the financial sector and has a profound impact on the economy in general. This discourages foreign investment and distorts international capital flows, ”Mr. bin Touk said at the Future of Finance conference, hosted by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

The potential threats of money laundering “inevitably spill over into the financial stability of the state and the performance of its overall economy, leading to output gaps, welfare losses and distortions in neighboring economies.” , did he declare.

The UAE, the Arab world‘s second-largest economy, has strict laws to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and has issued several regulations over the past two years to crack down
on financial crimes.

The country this year created the Executive Office for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, an agency tasked with combating money launderers, organizations and individuals suspected of financing terrorists and organized crime.

In November, the Ministry of the Economy set up an anti-money laundering service while a tribunal was established in Abu Dhabi to combat money laundering and tax evasion.

Last year, the UAE Central Bank also required all hawala providers – informal money transfer agents operating outside the banking system – to register with the regulator to strengthen oversight of transfers. silver.

“Being fully aware of the importance of combating any practice, we have developed an integrated system of national laws and regulations relating to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” Mr. bin Touk said Thursday. .

“Our system, characterized by force, deterrence and effective controls, prevents criminals from using the UAE as a safe haven for criminal practices.”

He said several committees had been formed to implement the national strategic objective of tackling the problem in line with the recommendations of the Global Financial Action Task Force, a France-based intergovernmental organization that develops anti-money laundering policies. silver. The FAFT is an initiative of the G7 group of countries.

The Economy Ministry also unveiled a campaign earlier this year to ensure that more than 500,000 UAE non-financial companies submit data on their end beneficiaries as it continues to implement new policies. to combat the problem.

As part of this plan, companies were asked to register their true beneficiary and list the required data with their regulator’s authorization systems to combat money laundering.

The beneficial owner is defined as the person who owns the company or directly or indirectly controls the company by owning more than 25 percent of the entity and 25 percent or more of the voting rights.

Updated: October 14, 2021, 13:31

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