H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed chairs Meeting of Higher Committee Overseeing National Strategy on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, chaired the Meeting of the Higher Committee Overseeing National Strategy on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism in 2021 at Expo Dubai.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Chair of the Higher Committee, said: ‘The UAE continues to take its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously.’ Khaled Balama Altameemi, Governor of the Central Bank and Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations, briefed Committee members on the latest developments and the positive progress being made in building the institutional capabilities set out in the UAE’s National Risk Assessment, National Action Plan, and National Strategy for AML/CFT.

The UAE has been working closely with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the intergovernmental body that sets international standards on AML/CFT, to ensure the UAE’s legal, regulatory and operational standards not only meet global standards for safeguarding the financial system, but are also sustainable over the long-term.

As part of this process, the Committee also reviewed progress made by the UAE in recent months, set out in the UAE’s latest progress update to FATF, Middle East and North Africa FATF (MENAFATF), and relevant international stakeholders. The Committee was pleased to see the technical compliance and effectiveness of the many measures put in place by the UAE, stating clearly the continued efforts made by the UAE, under the coordination of the Executive Office for AML/CFT.

In particular, the Committee commended the UAE’s intensive, whole-of-government efforts to greatly enhance its AML-CFT framework and to address each of the Recommended Actions identified in the UAE’s FATF Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), across the 10 Immediate Outcomes (IOs).

The meeting was attended by Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice; Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development; Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State, and Lt. Gen. Talal Al Falasi, Director-General of the State Security Department in Dubai, Khaled Balama Altameemi, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, Hessa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, and Lt. Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police .

Ibrahim Mohammed Al Zaabi, Director General of the State Security Service, Ahmad bin Lahej Al Falasi, Director General of the Customs - Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, Hamid Saif Al Zaabi, Director-General of the Executive Office to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.