Monday 02 October 2023 - 3:38:29 pm
Wed 26-10-2022 21:40 PM
ABU DHABI, 26th October, 2022 (WAM) -- The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF) met today with the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU) and United National Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to discuss strategies for enhancing international cooperation.
Hamid Al Zaabi, Director-General of the EO AML/CTF, hosted the Egyptian delegation, led by Judge Ahmed Khalil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the EMLCU, as a follow-up meeting to discussions that took place in Cairo in August 2022. Ali Faisal Ba’Alawi, Head of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit, Dr. Hatem Ali, Regional Representative of the UNODC Office for the GCC Region, and Rashid Al Mannai, Head of the TFS Department at the Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation, also participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, the UAE shared its experience in many areas including the electronic system for the follow-up on the compliance of authorities with the national strategy and action plan, the establishment of a Committee on the partnership between the public and the public sector, in addition to developments in the NRA process in partnership with the World Bank.
Insights from the UAE FIU’s strategic analysis methods and goAML system were also shared.
Hamid AlZaabi, Director General of the EO AML/CTF, commended the strong ties between the UAE and Egypt in the fight against financial crime and underscored that they share a commitment to advancing efforts to combat money laundering and counter terrorism financing.
He added, “By sharing best practices and facilitating greater information flows, we have significantly boosted the effectiveness of money laundering investigations and prosecutions. These efforts underpin the UAE’s status as an attractive global business hub and provide a secure foundation for bilateral trade with partners such as Egypt.”
Judge Ahmed Khalil commented, “I am confident that these excellent discussions that bring together the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing, the FIU, and their partners from parties working on the implementation process will contribute to realising national and transnational plans and strategies. These discussions will also support an effective response to financial crime, including money laundering and terrorist financing, and enhance mutual benefit from the experiences of the UAE and the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
For his part, Dr. Hatem Ali said, “The OGCCR Office commends the UAE for its strong commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of its AML/CFT system in recent years. Through the coordination of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing, the UAE has developed effective efforts to detect and investigate illicit remittances and combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism at the regional and international levels. Within this framework of partnership and close cooperation, the UNODC OGCCR supports the EO AML/CTF’s efforts to combat financial crime in the region and share its experience with partners in Africa and Asia, specifically Egypt and Bahrain.”
Collaboration between the UAE and Egypt has grown steadily following the signing of an MOU between Egypt’s EMLCU and the UAE’s FIU in 2017, and both nations are members of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF).
