The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF) has announced its participation in the 2023 edition of the World Police Summit as gold sponsor. 

The Summit will take place under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 7th-9th March.

The World Police Summit is the largest convention for policing and law enforcement officials globally and is held for the second time under the umbrella of the UAE Ministry of Interior and hosted by Dubai Police. 

The Summit organisers are expecting a strong turnout of upward of 15,000 domestic and international participants.

The three-day exhibition and conference has a programme featuring over 200 speakers, with more than 250 exhibitors taking part in the event.

The Summit programme has been tailored to feature in-depth discussions about the immediate priorities and challenges facing police forces and law enforcement agencies around the world, as well as new emerging technologies that are used to mitigate crime.

The EO AML/CFT will sponsor the “Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering” track of the Crime Prevention Conference.

Hamid Al Zaabi, Director General of the EO AML/CTF, commented on the important role of the Summit bringing together a wide range of professionals in law enforcement and policing to facilitate coordinated action that stops financial crime.

Al Zaabi also explained that “the best way of us getting ahead of financial crime is by being alert and through joined up action and joined up intelligence. Overseeing the UAE’s National AML/CFT Strategy and Agenda, the actions of the Executive Office of AML/CTF have made it easier to drive real and radical change, share intelligence and quickly respond to evolving threats, and spotting and stopping financial crime.”

He added, “Fighting financial crime can never be left to one body or one team. It takes action and vigilance across all sectors and actors. I call it the force multiplier effect. A joined up collective power significantly increases our ability to protect our international financial system whilst also readying us to face the next challenge. I commend the Ministry of Interior, Dubai Police and the organisers of the World Police Summit 2023 for their excellent efforts staging a world-class event.”

Major General Dr. Abdel Qudous Al Obaidli, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Excellence and Pioneering Affairs of the Dubai Police, welcomed the sponsorship support of the Executive Office and said, “The World Police Summit is delighted that the Executive Office of AML/CTF is a gold sponsor and leading the ‘Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering’ track of the Crime Prevention Conference. Financial crime is a major threat to the integrity of the global economy, which requires effective international cooperation to successfully counter. The Executive Office of AML/CFT has valuable insights and practices to share from the UAE’s efforts as a global business and trade hub”.

The “Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering” track of the Crime Prevention Conference opens on Wednesday, 8th March with the keynote ‘Uncovering hidden assets: evolving financial intelligence and compliance frameworks for law enforcement agencies.

The session will take the format of a discussion between Chady El-Khoury, Deputy Unit Chief Financial Integrity International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Mohamed Shalo Director Of Communication and Strategic Partnerships Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing and Chair of the UAE PPP Sub Committee.

The track will continue with a leadership panel on “Anti-Money Laundering: Critical Pathways for Sharing info: bolstering global anti-money laundering & counter-terrorism financing capabilities”.

Ali Faisal Baalawi, Head of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit will be joined by Adrian Searle Director, National Economic Crime Centre UK, Jonathan Joyce Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Patrick South Vice President TRM Labs, Washington DC, United States of America.

A session on “Anonymity vs. Intelligence: tracing fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions” will be moderated by Tarek Mohammed, Head Of Virtual Asset Crime Section at Dubai Police and include Gurvais Grigg Former FBI Assistant Director and current Chief Technology Officer for Public Sector at Chainalysis, Abdulrasheed Bawa, Executive Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria, and Nicholas Court Assistant Director, Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption, INTERPOL.

Expert speakers will also cover during the track the investigation of economic and environmental crime, the role of Central Banks Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and automating sanctions matching across multiple languages.

H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE, today witnessed the launch of the strategy of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS) for 2023 to 2026, as well as the new identity and name of the institute, which will be known as the “Emirates Financial Institute.”

During the ceremony, which was held at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the employment of 1,200 male and female citizens in the banking and insurance sectors was announced, including 1,074 affiliates of the Emiratisation programme in the financial sector, in addition to the signing of joint cooperation agreements between the institute and local and international organisations.

Sheikh Mansour highlighted the keenness of the UAE’s leadership, headed by President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to empower the country’s people and enhance their capacities in various fields of work, most notably in the financial sector.

He also lauded the role of the Emirates Financial Institute in supporting and qualifying national cadres, in line with the highest international standards, as well as the importance of its initiatives to promoting innovation and developing the country’s financial sector.

He then congratulated President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed for the graduation of the first batch of the Emiratisation programme in the financial sector and wished them success.

During the ceremony, Sheikh Mansour listened to a brief presentation about the Emiratisation programme in the financial sector and witnessed the signing of four cooperation agreements between the institute, the Scholarships Office in the Presidential Court, and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, Nafis, Oxford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to support the efforts to train national talents, refine their skills and knowledge, and raise their competitiveness.

The ceremony was attended by Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Khalid Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE; Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank; and members of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank, Younis Haji Al Khoury, Wassami Dhaen Al Qamzi, and Dr. Ali Muhammad Al Rumaithi, in addition to members of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Financial Institute, and chairmen of the boards of directors of local banks and national insurance companies.

In his speech during the ceremony, Khaled Balama, also the Chairman of the Board of the Institute, expressed his deepest thanks to Sheikh Mansour, for his unwavering support for the Emiratisation efforts in the financial sector. 

He stressed that the “Emirates Financial Institute” seeks to play a leading and effective role in the Emiratisation agenda based on the vision of the wise leadership of the UAE for the next fifty years.

Noura Alblooshi, Acting General Manager of EIBFS, said, “The institute is inspired by the vision of our wise leadership to develop Emirati talent and raise their readiness to meet the needs of the future. It supports the Emiratisation file, which is a priority within the strategy of the Central Bank that launched the resource empowerment initiative.”

The ceremony witnessed 1,200 new employees in the banking and insurance sectors taking the professional oath to start their practical journey after their training and qualification. 

The UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), which is based in Tokyo.

The MoU focuses on expanding the circle of coordination and investment cooperation between the two institutions to serve their common interests.

The agreement constitutes a nucleus on which to build and encourage more partnerships between the business communities and private sector companies from both sides, build their capacities, and encourage bilateral and multilateral investments, especially in the Middle East and Africa region, in a number of areas of common interest, especially in potential infrastructure and transport projects, in a way that contributes to achieving the aspirations of the two institutions and supports their development efforts.

The MoU was signed at the Council’s headquarters at the Ministry of Economy in Abu Dhabi by Jamal bin Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary-General of UAEIIC, and Tatsuhiko Takesada, President and CEO of JOIN.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to the UAE; Rashed Saud Al Shamsi, member of the Board of Directors of UAEIIC; Faisal Khouri, VP, Packaging, MEA- Borouge; and a number of representatives from both sides.

On this occasion, Al Jarwan said, “We are pleased today to sign this agreement with JOIN to enhance the role of the private sector, stimulate growth, create appropriate projects and opportunities for investment and establish new economic partnerships.”

He added, “This agreement reaffirms the UAE International Investors Council’s was chaired by Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri’s approach to building bridges of cooperation and complementary work with relevant international institutions and parties, to create constructive partnerships and support the Council’s ambition to achieve the growth of UAE investments, as this agreement will contribute to creating new paths that support the growth of mutual investments on the one hand or through potential investments on a wider international scale on the other hand, especially in light of the changes in the global economy, geopolitical events and the effects of climate change, the need for Advanced infrastructure capable of withstanding disasters and climate change, which requires huge investments on a large scale, in order to develop infrastructure in the markets of the region and Africa.”

For his part, Takesada stated, “We are pleased with this agreement, as the purpose of this MoU is to coordinate and cooperate with each other on potential projects from the early stages, especially on projects related to infrastructure, urban development and transport projects in the UAE and other countries, especially the Middle East and North Africa region, to drive sustainable growth.”

He explained that the two countries have great economies, which are based on knowledge, technology, experience, financial capabilities and strong international reputation through which to access the markets of the Middle East and Africa.

JOIN continuously strives to be involved in the overseas transport and urban development projects from the early stages, cooperating with host governments and related parties, to facilitate the entry of the Japanese companies through the creation of a business environment that encourages their participation in overseas projects.