UAE AML/CFT Partnership Forum Digital Work Group publishes white paper on technologies in anti-financial crime

ABU DHABI, 3rd April, 2024 (WAM) — Hamid AlZaabi, Director-General of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF), was presented with the first copy of the white paper “Current views on technologies in anti-financial crime” during the EO AML/CTF Ramadan event, published by the UAE AML/CFT Partnership Forum’s Digital Working Group.

On receiving the paper, AlZaabi stated, “Partnership between the public and private sectors is one of our most important strategic priorities for the UAE, and the EO AML/CTF pays special attention to the projects of the AML/CFT Partnership Forum (ACPF) due to its pivotal role in enhancing dialogue with the private sector.

The issuance of this paper is a valuable example of the fruitful results deriving from the partnership between public and private sectors and the exchange of experstise between them to idenitfy and combat threats and money laundering and terrorism financing more effectively.”

Mohamed Shalo, Chair of the ACPF and Director of Communication and Strategic Partnerships at the EO AML/CTF, commented, “The Digital Working Group demonstrates that both public and private sector institutions in the UAE are committed to combating financial crime and are striving to harness the power of the right technologies. By leading by example, they demonstrate that organisations that embrace innovative technologies and work collaboratively are more than able to meet the challenges posed by tech-driven financial crime.”

He added, “I would like to thank the members of the Digital Working Group and all who have contributed to this paper. As a strong believer in role of strategic communication and open dialogue, I can attest to the power of collaboration and the sharing of expertise with greater transperancy. I commend this paper to experts from all sectors, including the academic community; its contents and recommendations will be of real value to those at the front line of the fight against financial crime.”

Nishanth Nottath, Chair of the ACPF Digital Working Group and Executive Vice President, Head of AML, ABC & Reg Tech at Mashreq Bank, said, “The document offers a high-level overview of the latest technologies that have demonstrated the potential to significantly improve anti-financial crime capabilities. The white paper will be of real interest to a wide variety of stakeholders covering financial institutions, technology providers, compliance/AML/regulatory technology professionals and anyone more generally interested in anti-financial crime affairs.”

Over 40 contributers from the public and private sectors participated in the writing of the white paper. The white paper covers various aspects of technology implementation over five chapters: Know Your Customer (KYC); Customer Due Diligence (CDD); and onboarding to Transaction Monitoring and Surveillance; Screening, Model Risk Management/Data; and the transformative influence of Large Language Models (LLMs).

The ACPF is the UAE public-private partnership initiative for financial crime. It was founded in 2021 to detect and disrupt criminal activities and reduce any harm to the integrity of the UAE’s financial system through information and intelligence sharing between government agencies and the private sector.

The ACPF secretariat is provided by the EO AML/CTF, and the Forum currently has 51 members.