UAE officials discuss money laundering and terrorism financing risks with World Bank

Workshop identified and evaluated risks in these areas to help draft effective mitigation policies

Abu Dhabi's skyline. The UAE has made significant progress in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism over the past few years.. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE’s Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) has held a workshop with the World Bank to boost its framework against financial crimes,

The event this week was the second workshop of the UAE's 2022-23 money laundering and terrorist financing National Risk Assessment.

During the workshop, the UAE authorities discussed, identified and evaluated money laundering and terrorist financing risks to draft effective mitigation policies.

“The UAE acknowledges the paramount importance of assessing ML/TF risks to combat financial crime and strengthen our national system,” said Hamid Al Zaabi, director general of the Executive Office.

“National strategies and policy decisions must be supported by comprehensive risk assessments … our commitment to adopting the World Bank methodology underpins this endeavour,” he added.

The UAE has made significant progress in combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation over the past few years.

The Arab world’s second-largest economy seized and confiscated assets worth more than Dh4.73 billion ($1.29 billion) in the 12 months to the end of July 2022, as it stepped up its fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The NRA workshop saw participation from various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, the UAE Central Bank, financial free zones, the financial intelligence unit, and all corporate registrars in the mainland, commercial, and financial free zones.

The first workshop, held in Abu Dhabi in November, provided extensive training to UAE authorities on the World Bank methodology.

Over the past decade, the World Bank's NRA toolkit has been used by more than 100 jurisdictions in leading their own risk assessments and designing action plans for more effective AML/CFT practices.