During a forum on money laundering organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sunday, a number of attending officials presented their veiws on measures taken to tackle the phenomenon in Kuwait. MP and President of the Financial and Economic National Assembly Committee Abdulwahed Al-Awadhi said that Kuwait needs to improve its background on the issue applying further legislation to combat money laundering. Al-Awadhi indicated to current numbers released by the International Monetary Fund pertaining to international money laundering that have risen from $1.5 trillion in the nineties to $2.8 trillion.
Deputy Director of Field Inspection in Kuwait’s monetary authority, the Central Bank of Kuwait, Talal Al-Sayegh, told KUNA that the country has linked up with many international organizations related to the cause, as well as signing treaties and agreements in regard to tackling measures. Head of the Department of Charitable Associations and Institutions in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour Nasser Al-Ammar said that Kuwait’s National Committee for Combating Money Laundering Operations was founded in 2002 following the terrorist attacks of 11 September on the United States. The committee was established in order to trace charity funds which amount to millions, until their true destination.
Its Director, Sheikh Nemr Fahad Al-Sabah said that the committee holds its inspections annually.
The committee also looks forward towards gaining more expertise, making use of international and regional experiments in the field. Cases of money laundering in Kuwait are extremely low due to the efforts of the government to fight corruption in compliance with international resolutions in regard, said Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr Rashid Al-Tabtabaei on Sunday.
Kuwait issued an anti-money laundering law in 2002 and also forming the National Committee for Confronting Money Laundering Operations, he said in a speech at the Conference on Anti-Money Laundering held in Kuwait. Money gathered for charity in Kuwait needs authorization from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour through a valid license, said the undersecretary. The Central Bank of Kuwait is also an inspection body in the country, watching over companies and is in an endless search for fresh methods to tackle the phenomenon, he said. Money launderers look to Arabian Gulf countries as new targets for their operations, especially after the constricting laws in the US and Europe, he noted furthermore.
Source: Arab Times
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