H.H. Sheikh Mansour reviews progress on countering financial crime

His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired a high-level coordination meeting on anti-money laundering and tackling the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

During the meeting, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) and the Executive Office for AML/CFT presented the UAE’s strategy to strengthen its longstanding efforts to combat financial crime.

Participants discussed the ways in which the UAE is closely coordinating with its international partners to identify, disrupt, and punish criminals and illicit financial networks.

They highlighted how the UAE has enacted notable reforms to prevent financial crime in recent years and will continue strengthening its approach in line with international standards and the global AML/CFT agenda.

The UAE Expert Group for AML/CFT has successfully conducted 44 meetings with its foreign counterparts with a particular focus on developing a strong talent pool of anti-financial crime professionals.

The meeting also touched on significant areas of improvement in the UAE’s AML/CFT efforts, including its progress in enacting targeted financial sanctions to combat terrorism, terrorist financing, and proliferation; increasing transparency on beneficial ownership of legal arrangements and entities; and strengthening relevant laws and regulations to improve national coordination and cooperation.

The country’s partnerships in the AML/CFT field were highlighted, such as the UAE-UK Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows and the EU Structural Dialogue.

In addition, capacity building sessions and workshops with key jurisdictions were cited, which have led to an enriched exchange of best practices on AML/CFT at the international level.