BEIRUT, April 27, (KUNA): There is a praiseworthy level of existing cooperation among the central banks of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab states to reduce money laundering and terror finance, said Director of the On-site Supervision Department at the Central Bank of Kuwait Abdulhamid Dawood Al-Awadh said here Wednesday.
The previous remark was made by Al-Awadh to KUNA on the sidelines of his participation in opening the international conference on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism which is currently held in Beirut (April 27 — April 28) under the sponsorship of Riyad Salama, Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, with the participation of senior officials, and the representatives of central banks, and financial and banking institutions from 13 Arab countries, besides the representatives of US Treasury Department.
Asked about the existing cooperation among the GCC six Arab states in order to reduce illegal financial operations, Al-Awadh said that, “there is strong cooperation among the central banks in GCC six Arab states through respective specialized committees to reduce money laundering and terror financing.” Further, Al-Awadh asserted the significant role played by CBK’s Banking Fraud Investigation Unit chaired by CBK Governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, “in conducting financial investigations in cooperation with the public prosecution.” On the decrees issued by the CBK to other Kuwaiti banks to further combat the illegal financial operations, Al-Awadh said that, “Kuwait is considered one of the most outstanding states when it comes to catching up with international developments in the domains of fighting money laundering, and terror financing, “ pointing out the importance of the instructions made by CBK to other banks to curb the phenomenon of money laundering.
The current conference is sponsored by the World Union of Arab Bankers in cooperation with Union of Arab Banks, and Lebanon’s Special Investigation Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Body.
The forum provides an important opportunity for discussing the anti-money laundering and terror financing as a high-profile topic under the current developments at the local, regional and international levels.