Workshops on combating money laundering held
ABU DHABI: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) held a virtual workshop with European Union (EU) officials on 5th and 6th April, discussing the importance of a multi-agency approach to parallel investigations.
The sessions explored ways to employ AntiMoney Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) intelligence to disrupt and dismantle illicit networks. The sessions also addressed cooperation among relevant institutional participants on the domestic and international levels.
Key law enforcement entities across the UAE benefited from the skills and knowledge exchange, including the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecution. The workshops focused on the importance of knowledge and discussed building a standardised and comprehensive understanding of criminality and the individuals involved in organised crime across the country, in addition to the interconnectedness of international organised crime networks.
Also, it focused on understanding the joint assessment and analysis of collective knowledge with the aim of maximising the understanding of organised crime at all levels. The workshop also discussed the aspect of response, using a common assessment approach to identify, prioritise, and coordinate a response at the tactical and strategic levels.
Glenn Mcdowell, EU AML/CFT Global Facility expert, said, “Financial crime is growing in sophistication and complexity, so we are delighted to be able to share our respective knowledge, skills, and experience with the UAE. The reality across most countries is that different government agencies are involved at various stages of tackling financial or other serious crimes, including the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of offences and the recovery of the proceeds of crime.
“Using parallel financial investigations and increasing cooperation and beter information sharing between different government agencies and internationally at each stage of the fight against serious crimes is key to enhancing our ongoing prevention efforts.” Amna Fikri, Director of the Economic and Trade Affairs Department at MOFAIC, stated, “I would like to thank the European Union for partnering with us to host this important session. Financial investigations are data intensive. Parallel investigations enable us to bring together cross-sectorial and cross-jurisdictional expertise. This means that information is beter shared and effectively used to avoid duplication and sharpen the pursuit of financial crime by accelerating the identification of links between where the money comes from, who receives it, when it is received, and where it is deposited.”