06 March 2023
UAE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER TERRORISM FINANCING DELIVERS ‘PATTERNS OF ABUSE OF LEGAL ENTITIES’ WORKSHOP
The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF) delivered a second training workshop titled ‘Patterns of abuse of legal entities’ for officials representing national entities involved in the UAE’s fight against financial crime.
The workshop took place on 1 and 2 March in Dubai and was attended by more than 200 participants from supervisory authorities, registrar offices, and law enforcement agencies.
HE Hamid Al Zaabi, Director General of the EO AML/CTF, remarked that the UAE’s development of a Legal Persons and Arrangements Risk Assessment (LPA) has provided authorities with an updated and robust understanding of related risks. He added, “These workshops are important because they draw together all the relevant stakeholders who have contributed information for the compilation of the LPA. It is the second Worksop on this subject that the Executive Office has organised within the past four months and demonstrates our seriousness in eliminating the misuse of legal persons by national and international criminals. With a 100% filing of the National Economic Register now complete, we have the required data to fine tune typologies and mitigate identified risks associated with legal persons and arrangements. The LPA is a feature of the risk-based approach that is enshrined in the National AML/CFT Strategy and Plan and will be updated to ensure that its implementation is long-term and sustainable.”
Five presentations on the first day regarding the UAE’s national compliance framework and FATF requirements, as well as typologies for the misuse of legal persons.
The Ministry of Finance presented on the UAE’s legal framework for the prevention of the abuse of legal persons. Presenters from the Dubai Police, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) gave talks on typologies and shared their experiences.
The second day featured case study presentations by the Executive Office of AML/CFT, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Public Prosecution, Abu Dhabi Police, Federal Tax Authority, Executive Office of Control and Non-Proliferation (EOCN), and global consultancy PwC.