UAE steps up efforts to monitor money laundering

By Cleofe Maceda, Staff Reporter
Published: June 13, 2008, 00:03

Dubai: The UAE has intensified efforts to combat money laundering after an increase in the number of reported cases, the governor of the UAE Central Bank said yesterday.

"Reports of suspicious transactions are gradually increasing because of a growing awareness in banks, among the people and within the society. When you start doubting everything, of course, you report more. It's a natural process," Governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi told reporters at the second meeting of the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee in Dubai,

Al Suwaidi confirmed that efforts to monitor money laundering have been stepped up and banks are required to report any suspicious movement of money.

"We have a requirement asking banks to report accounts where a lot of money is [deposited] or withdrawn. This is actually an old requirement, but we have emphasised this because of certain fraud cases committed in the UAE," Al Suwaidi said.

He refused to divulge details of the cases and how much money was involved, but confirmed that there has been an increase in reports of shady deals due to growing awareness of the issue.

The UAE Central Bank governor also heads the anti-money laundering committee, which analyses suspicious deals brought to their attention and forwards the cases to either the police or the prosecutors for appropriate action.

Al Suwaidi brushed aside speculation pointing to Dubai as the source of suspect money, saying that such funds are mainly derived from trading illegal drugs and are "imported" mainly from Europe and the US.

"The biggest source of suspect money is drugs. People sell drugs in societies where there are more people. So that is Europe and America. And therefore, it comes from there. They are the biggest sources," said Al Suwaidi.

Al Suwaidi stressed that no one actually knows the volume of money being laundered in the UAE, but the movement of alleged dirty money seems to follow a "seasonal" pattern.

Source: GulfNews