The International Chamber of Commerce Qatar (ICC Qatar) will conduct a special compliance awareness seminar on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing on January 28 at Qatar Chamber.
The seminar titled ‘The Development in the Fight Against Money Laundering & Financing of Terrorism’ is organised by ICC Qatar, in collaboration with Refinitiv, the world’s largest provider of financial markets data, and supported by Qatar Chamber.
In a press statement, ICC Qatar stated that 2020 will be “an important year for Qatar” as the country will be going through an evaluation by the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF), which is the international watchdog that helps combat money laundering and terrorist financing across the globe.
The one-day seminar will be focusing on the latest developments in global compliance and regulation, the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in the non-banking sectors. The seminar will also highlight best practices, how to effectively deploy the required approach, and find solutions to mitigate this type of risk.
“It is important to remember that it is not only the governments that come under scrutiny in FATF’s evaluations. As part of their review into the effectiveness, FATF reviews how firms across the regulated sectors are implementing the countries’ laws and regulations. In mutual evaluations reports published on other jurisdictions, we have consistently seen sectors falling short of FATF’s expectations,” the statement said.
ICC Qatar secretary general and Qatar Chamber board member Dr Khalid Klefeekh al-Hajri said, “Qatar has made great strides in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, noting that this was obvious by the issuance of the laws.”
Al-Hajri stressed the importance of these laws that reflect Qatar’s continued commitment to combating money laundering and terrorist financing in all its forms, in accordance with the latest international standards adopted by major international organisations, including FATF.
“Qatar’s achievements are the result of combined efforts exerted by all competent bodies, ministries, and other government agencies that are members of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Committee, which is responsible for protecting Qatar’s financial system from the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing,” he said.
Mohamed Daoud, Refinitiv director of Business Development and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) expert, who will deliver the seminar, stated: “The non-financial sector has a wrong perception that AML/CFT regulations are for the banking and financial sectors only.
“A key shortcoming identified by FATF across many jurisdictions in Mena is the role of designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) in failing short of FATF expectations.”
He also noted that in recent years evaluation reports of several countries show that DNFBPs such as real estate agents, dealers in precious metal/stones, cross-border trading and shipping, and other non-financial organisations have a less comprehensive and sometimes limited understanding of the AML/CFT regulation and the risk they are facing.
“The fourth round of mutual evaluations from FATF is a key changer as it is not anymore focusing on technical compliance and whether country laws and regulations have been amended and are in place in accordance with the 40 recommendations, but also a high focus on the effectiveness of the deployment of the regulations which proves to be very challenging for many countries,” he pointed out.
To register for the seminar, visit iccqatar.org.
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