In awareness sessions that brought together CEOs of 600 companies

Strengthening the role of non-financial businesses and professions in combating money laundering and terrorist financing

• An effective system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing begins with a close partnership between the public and private sectors.

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Minister of State, Ahmed bin Ali Mohammed Al-Sayegh, in the presence of the Assistant Undersecretary for the Monitoring and Follow-up Sector at the Ministry of Economy, Abdullah Sultan Al-Fan Al-Shamsi, and the CEO of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, Brian Stirewalt, chaired two sessions that brought together the CEOs of 600 companies in the business sector and non-financial professions specified in the The UAE, with the aim of increasing awareness and awareness of the methodology and procedures for combating money laundering and terrorist financing in the UAE.

The two sessions, one of which focused on DNFBPs inside the country, and the other on DNFBPs outside the country, discussed the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing system, and the practical measures taken to improve cooperation between the public and private sectors in this field.

Enhance comprehension

The two sessions were supervised by the government of the UAE, with the aim of enhancing understanding of the main risks in the business sector and specific non-financial professions, briefing participants on the most prominent organizational and executive developments, and the importance of enhancing public-private partnerships to reduce financial crimes.

The two sessions dealt with the efforts of the private sector in working with the UAE government to combat financial crime, with a special focus on the role of specific non-financial businesses and professions in the country's economy, and their critical role in strengthening the system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

resource mobilization

Al-Sayegh stressed that the pervasive and evolving nature of financial crime requires mobilizing the resources, strengths and expertise of the public and private sectors, in cooperation with designated non-financial businesses and professions, which play a prominent role in exchanging information and promoting compliance with the best standards and practices for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

"An effective system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing begins with a close partnership between the public and private sectors, where financial institutions play a key role in this, as well as specific non-financial businesses and professions," he said.

"This includes identifying, evaluating and taking preventive measures to mitigate the risks of being involved in facilitating the transfer of illegal proceeds for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing," Al Sayegh added, noting that the UAE government has invested heavily in law enforcement agencies and the Financial Intelligence Unit.

UAE approach

For his part, Al Shamsi said, “The use of complex commercial arrangements by money launderers and terrorist financiers to hide the path of their money is a common and recurring topic worldwide.” He added, “These arrangements often use the services of professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, and company formation service providers. This exposes these important components to the risks of financial crimes, and necessitates playing an important role in combating them.”

He pointed out that "these awareness sessions come at an important time to enhance the UAE's approach to dealing with financial crimes."

Al Shamsi stressed that "building trust and understanding between the public and private sectors is essential in combating financial crimes, and this is exactly the reason for creating more opportunities for stakeholders in the public and private sectors to communicate issues of combating money laundering and terrorist financing."

Specific non-financial business

DNFBPs include professions that are increasingly exposed to AML/CFT outside the financial services sector, such as the precious metals sector, company formation service providers, consultants, auditors, external accountants, and legal and real estate professionals.

These professions are of great importance within the UAE's efforts to strengthen the system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and the steps aimed at preventing the spread of financial crimes in the local and global economies.

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