Central Bank appoints head of UAE financial intelligence unit
The Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has appointed
Ali Faisal Ba’Alawi as Head of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
This appointment represents the next step in the
implementation of the UAE’s National AML/CFT Strategy and National Action Plan,
the programme of reforms designed to strengthen the UAE’s anti-financial crime
system following the establishment of the Executive Office to Combat Money
Laundering and Terrorist Financing in February 2021.
Ba’Alawi has been acting head of the FIU since March 2018
and brings more than ten years specialist experience to the role.
Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the
UAE, said: "Over the last two years, Ali has drawn on his deep technical
skills and front-line experience to set a clear mandate for the FIU’s
structure, status, and all operational aspects of its administration. Each core
aspect has been based on detailed, action-orientated priorities. He has also
worked tirelessly to build effective relationships across both public and
private entities based on mutual trust, fairness, and reciprocity. This
includes broadening relationships with international partners, investing in
developing the FIU’s skills and capabilities, and driving forward the adoption
of technology to strengthen the UAE’s AML defences."
Hamid Al Zaabi, Director-General of the Executive Office of
the UAE, said: "The FIU plays a key role in the UAE’s efforts against
financial crime. It receives reports of suspicious transactions, analyses them,
and disseminates the resulting intelligence to local law enforcement agencies
while also studying, tracking, and interpreting the evolution of existing and
emerging typologies of financial crime in the jurisdiction across sectors.
Establishing an effective FIU is an important step in combating financial crime
and a cornerstone of the UAE’s National Action Plan. The UAE offers the FIU all
political support necessary to ensure its enduring success."
Ba’Alawi currently serves as the main contact point for the
UAE in a number of important regional and international fora, including the
Egmont Group, which represents 166 FIUs globally and provides a platform for
the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money
laundering and terrorist financing.
"It is with great pride that I assume this important
position. Investing in the ongoing development of our FIUs is a clear signal of
our collective determination to intensify efforts to focus on research,
analysis, and information exchange in order to combat money laundering,
terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. The UAE takes its role in
protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously and
an effective FIU is a critical part of our efforts. I am committed to working
across all actors in our economy and beyond to enable effective
enforcement," Ali Faisal Ba’Alawi, Head of the UAE FIU," added,
Ba’Alawi.
The Executive Office, which launched on February 24 2021,
works as the primary national coordinating body on AML/CFT efforts within the
UAE, holding a wide-ranging mandate to assist UAE AML/CFT related entities in
enhancing efficiency to better address the country’s NAP. Its overarching
objective is to enable and better equip the UAE in building a strong and
sustainable AML/CFT structure in the country.
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