UAE AML/CFT Public-Private-Partnership Committee concludes round of onsite consultation meetings

UAE AML/CFT Public-Private-Partnership Committee concludes round of onsite consultation meetings

ABU DHABI, 19th October, 2021 – The UAE Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorism Financing Public-Private-Partnership (AML/CFT PPP) Committee, concluded its first series of meetings focused towards establishing a clear structure for combatting illicit activity through the enhanced cooperation between the public and private sector.

Present at the ten, on-site meetings, 145 individuals from the private, and 31 from the public sectors, including representatives from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, Securities and Commodities Authority, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Driven by the Executive Office’s core functions of national polices and risks, national cooperation and follow-up and communication and strategic partnerships and the National Strategy’s six pillars of national policies and developments, law enforcement/ financial intelligence, supervisory theme, registries, international cooperation and targeted financial sanctions the UAE AML/CFT PPP Committee is comprised of 16 government and 21 private sector entities (FIs & DNFBPs), thereby providing a common platform in which to share AML/CFT and counter proliferation financing experience.

Summarising the series of meetings, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, said, “The sub-committee for the partnership between the public and private sectors to counter money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism is one of the sub-committees of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Illegal Organisations.

This committee aims to provide a common platform for dialogue and shared experiences with the aim of identifying wider challenges.

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Speaking on behalf of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing, Director-General, Hamid AlZaabi said, “Our main goal is to join hands and collaborate with the private sector and join both our knowledge and energy to achieve what is best for our country.

As our great father and leader, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan once said, “It is the duty of all officials to encourage teamwork, reveal the creative energies of young people and direct them to what is beneficial to society.

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Commenting on the meetings, Mohamed Shalo, Chairman of the Committee, said, “The Public-Private Partnership Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing continues to build its system of work in strategic and operational terms.

Our meetings over the past few weeks have been focused towards reaching out to our private sector partners and representatives to obtain their ideas for supporting the Commission’s strategy over the next three years, and its ultimate adoption by the National Committee.

“The discussions saw the introduction of many initiatives and ideas that will be worked on and translated into actionable steps, including the development of a governance framework for the confidential exchange and sharing of information between the two sectors, thereby enhancing the state’s efforts to address financial crimes and proactively enhance risk monitoring based on the information available.

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Composed of private sector companies, law enforcement entities, supervisory authorities and government bodies that include the Executive Office of the Committee for Goods Subject to Import and Export Control, the Federal Tax Authority, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Ministry of Finance, the committee is also currently engaged with international supervisory bodies including the United Kingdom’s Joint ML Intelligence Task Force, the United States’ Banking Sector Advisory Group and Singapore’s AML/CFT Industry Partnership.