Abu Dhabi:The United Arab Emirates, during its presidency of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), plans to propose a regional initiative focused on studying fraud typologies and associated money laundering activities.
According to Emirates News Agency , Hamid Saif Al Zaabi, President of MENAFATF, announced that this initiative is intended to enhance understanding and foster cooperation among member states to combat these risks effectively. The proposal will be presented at the next Plenary Meeting of MENAFATF in Abu Dhabi.
Al Zaabi, speaking at a press conference during the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, emphasized that the initiative aligns with the UAE's priorities as MENAFATF's president. It aims to support international standards and bolster national systems' effectiveness in tackling financial crime.
The initiative addresses the cross-border nature of fraud, the evolution of its methods, and the growing use of digital financial services, underscoring the need for a unified regional approach. Al Zaabi highlighted the importance of early detection tools and enhanced coordination among authorities to trace fraud proceeds and combat money laundering.
The project aims to create a regional knowledge base documenting fraud types, methods, and scales. It will facilitate the exchange of case studies and expertise, and the development of indicators to identify emerging fraud patterns and laundering methods.
Furthermore, the initiative seeks to address challenges in freezing, seizing, and recovering criminal proceeds, especially those from cyber-enabled fraud and crimes involving virtual assets. It also proposes establishing a regional network of practitioners to enhance operational cooperation in money laundering investigations.
The study will cover priority areas such as banking and financial fraud, cyber-enabled, investment and real estate fraud, fraud involving money transfers and hawala channels, fraud linked to virtual assets and digital trading platforms, and trade-based money laundering related to fraud.
Al Zaabi stated that member states' participation is crucial for data collection, case study exchange, and mutual evaluation report reviews, which will aid in analyzing regional patterns and producing a specialized report. The project will draw on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) experience and regional peer bodies while considering specific regional risks.
He concluded that a deeper understanding of fraud risks is essential for developing effective countermeasures, emphasizing the need to link knowledge and practical cooperation to enhance members' capabilities in tracing and recovering criminal proceeds and safeguarding financial systems from misuse.