UAE Central Bank and Dubai Police sign MoU

The UAE is committed to fight against money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism, said Sultan Al Suwaidi, Governor of the UAE Central Bank.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the event where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Bank and the General Headquarters of Dubai Police, on Sunday. There will be more agreements and exchange of information and training, he added.

The MoU facilitates exchange of information between the parties about money laundering cases and financing terrorism. The two sides agreed to establish an electronic link for the exchange of security information about transaction reports and suspicious cases.

According to the MoU, the General Headquarters of Dubai Police will notify the unit of money laundering and suspicious cases of the Central Bank in case of any doubt.

The staff will be regularly alerted of such cases and a written acknowledgment taken to maintain confidentiality.

Al Suwaidi stressed during the press conference held along with Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander in Chief of Dubai Police, that the UAE Central Bank is committed to address money laundering and financing of terrorism crimes through closer international cooperation. Emirates has sufficient strength to combat such crimes, he added.

Al Suwaidi said 25 international certificates confirm the efforts of the UAE in its fight against money laundering crimes.

The UAE is committed to the principles of Egmont Group, he said and added that the Emirates was one of the first countries in the Middle East to become a member of this group.

UAE Central Bank signed 40 agreements for the exchange of security information in money laundering and suspicious cases, he added.

He said the system of electronic connectivity applied in banks, financial institutions and relevant bodies in the UAE aims to ease the information exchange and facilitate the process of transferring funds to auditors.

"The central bank has complete information and data on the transferring processes that occur and can be consulted any time," he added.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan no one can manipulate the laws of the UAE. "The joint cooperation, which brings together the leadership of Dubai  Police and the UAE Central Bank on exchange of information on suspicious cases related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism has existed for several years. This has led to detection of several issues and has proved that the UAE can be completely clean of any suspicious acts," he said.

"The UAE was one of the first countries that sought to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism by confronting them with laws and regulations as well as investigation and research," Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan said and added that the Central Bank did its best to confront such crimes even before the issuance of the Money Laundering Act.

He stressed the UAE is totally free of money-laundering mafia or financing of terrorist crimes, which confirms the cleanliness of the UAE of any trade or illegal transfers of any size. Such crimes are international crimes, which take time and considerable effort to detect the sources.

General Khalil Al Mansouri, Director of Investigation Department of Dubai Police, said 16 cases of money laundering were referred to the competent authorities this year compared to nine last year. Some of the cases are still pending in the courts, as such cases demand detailed investigation. 

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