New agreement to combat money laundering and terrorism financing among non-profits

The UAE’s Ministry of Community Development established a joint mechanism with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit for the co-ordination of efforts to combat money laundering, financing of terrorist groups and illicit organisations in the non-profit organisations sector, reported state news agency Wam.

The move was announced by Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, and Minister of State Ahmed Al Sayegh.

The co-operation will also enable the exchange of information on NPOs with relation to cases of money laundering, financing of terrorist groups and illicit organisations and aim to establish a secure electronic link for the purpose of exchanging information, reported Wam.

The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, has strict laws to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism and has issued several regulations over the past couple of years to clamp down on financial crimes.

Earlier this year, the country established the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing, an agency to deal with money launderers, organisations and people suspected of financing terrorists and organised crime.

In November last year, the Ministry of Economy set up an anti-money laundering department, while a court was established in Abu Dhabi to tackle money laundering and tax evasion.

“The Ministry of Community Development and the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit will co-operate with all concerned authorities that perform an active role in our economy and protect donors and their money from the risks of exploitation in financing terrorism and financing of illicit organisations, to enable effective enforcement of countering financial crimes of all kinds and forms,” Ali Faisal Ba'Alawi, head of the FIU, told Wam.

Meanwhile, Nasser Ismail, assistant under-secretary of social welfare at the MoCD, stressed the ministry’s eagerness to integrate with regulatory authorities that are responsible for overseeing UAE non-benefit public associations as a confirmation of the commitment to international standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons as issued by the Financial Action Task Force.

The ministry’s standards in this regard constitute a legal, legislative and supervisory basis for the authorities responsible for overseeing associations.