Non-compliance with AML / CFT standards expose enterprises to legal risk

by **claud39** Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:34 am

http://www.uabonline.org/en/news/arabicnews/15931583160515751604157516051578157915751604160416/60053/0

Non-compliance with AML / CFT standards expose enterprises to legal risk

30/01/2019

Non-compliance with AML / CFT standards expose enterprises to legal risk Rc_154883354371_23

The Forum of Combating Financial Crimes: Compliance with international standards against money laundering and financing of terrorism, organized by the Union of Arab Banks in cooperation with the Central Bank of Jordan and the Association of Banks in Jordan, was launched in Amman on Tuesday.
The Forum, which was attended by Jordanian and Arab banking leaders, was patronized by the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan Dr. Ziad Fariz, and was opened on his behalf by Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Maher Al-Sheikh Hassan.
The Deputy Governor said that the risk of non-compliance with AML / CFT standards affected national, institutional and individual levels.
Failure to comply with these standards means that any country is vulnerable to terrorist acts that harm the state and society, affect investment flows and the arrival of foreign tourists, and "corrupt money corrupts politicians and economists alike and everyone in their orbit."
At the institutional level, Sheikh Hassan stressed that non-compliance places institutions at risk of legal risk and the risk of penalties and reputational risks that limit the ability of the institution to deal with its counterparts in other countries. On the personal level, however, they affect the moral and religious beliefs of people Values It is not acceptable to indulge with money launderers and financiers of terrorism or drug dealers.
In this context, Sheikh Hassan called for a national commitment in the first place before complying with the requirements of the regulatory standards, stressing that the Central Bank of Jordan attaches great importance to compliance with international standards against money laundering and terrorist financing.
He said that the central bank is in direct contact with compliance managers in banks to ensure the availability of technical, technical and human requirements to carry out their tasks, stressing that the appointment of such managers or termination of services requires the prior approval of the Central Bank.
In his turn, a member of the House of Elders, former Interior Minister Hussain Hazza al-Majali, stressed that as a result of the Kingdom's keenness to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the Public Security Directorate, which is concerned with maintaining security and public safety and preventing crimes of all kinds, signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Anti- Funds for coordination and cooperation in the public interest.
It was agreed that the Directorate of Public Security would establish a section of Preventive Security, which would deal with combating money-laundering and the financing of terrorism and cooperation with the National Committee for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Al-Majali, who is also a former director of the General Security Directorate, stressed that terrorism is not only fed on funds but also fueled by the absence of coordination among countries in the fight against terrorism, which leads to the failure of units monitoring money laundering or preventing money from reaching the hands of Terrorists.
In that regard, he said that the laws combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism existed and many, but non-compliance and non-cooperation in their implementation leads to the failure of regulators in the implementation of its tasks.
For example, he pointed to the export of oil through terrorist organizations and the sale of archaeological treasures, pointing out that this is not done without the cooperation of countries to buy looted oil or stolen treasures.
Hani al-Qadi, chairman of the Association of Banks in Jordan, said that the international community has made vigorous efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, in a way that prevents those involved in criminal activities from exploiting the integrity and stability of the international financial system.
He added that these efforts resulted in the emergence of many international organizations aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, the most important of which is FATF.
The Banking Law No. (28) for the year 2000 included provisions for money laundering, followed in 2004 by the establishment of a department for suspicious financial transactions within the Banking Supervision Department, It turned into a unit to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which was officially launched in June 2007 under the anti - money laundering 46 Act of 2007.
He pointed to the formation of the national Committee for combating money laundering and terrorism financing Committee shall draw up the general policy for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and to develop the necessary plans to deny Zha, and follow - up with the competent authorities for the purposes of implementation of the commitments contained in the relevant international resolutions, and to participate in the relevant anti - money laundering and the financing of terrorism and international forums, and the study of the annual reports of the unit for combating money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Jordan was one of the most countries in the region and the world in compliance with AML / CFT. It ranked first in the Arab world and forty-fourth in the Basel Convention against Money Laundering in 2018 out of 129 countries covered by the index.
Jordan was not on the list of States with strategic shortcomings in the fight against money-laundering of the FATF.
The developments in financial technology and its relationship to the risks posed by money-laundering and the financing of terrorism showed that developments in financial technology carried great opportunities for growth and efficiency and the emergence of new products, services and technologies, but at the same time posed major challenges, For the private and public sectors.
He stressed the need to control financial technology products, especially peer-to-peer, which enables users to deal directly with each other without the need for an intermediary, as the secrecy of these operations give some easy to carry out suspicious operations on Internet, especially if used in the Deep Web.
The global nature of developments in financial technology, which had a cross-border impact, required more coordination between international and local bodies and effective mechanisms for proactive information sharing among relevant stakeholders in order to take a more coordinated approach to emerging challenges .
Wissam Fattouh, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Banks, stressed the importance of complying with international standards against money laundering and terrorist financing and the requirements imposed by local regulators to ensure better tools to combat financial crimes.
Participants discussed on the first day, the global fight against financial crimes in 2019, advanced technology and its implications for the world of compliance, laws and legislation on the protection of information systems and the reduction of financial crimes.