The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (EO AML/CFT), in partnership with the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), organised a roundtable on public-private partnerships and ways to enhance collaboration to combat financial crime.
Officials from public-private partnership committees in partner countries in Europe and Asia delivered virtual presentations on cooperation initiatives to confront financial crime, with the participation of senior members of the UAE’s Public-Private Partnership Sub-Committee (PPPSC) and UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
More than 40 compliance and risk professionals representing financial institutions and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) based in the UAE participated in the roundtable.
Participants discussed a range of issues, including best practices for the sharing of insight, experience, and lessons in the development of public-private partnerships. They also exchanged viewpoints on how national efforts to combat financial crime can best support and inform development plans for the UAE’s PPPSC.
Mohamed Shalo, Chairman of the UAE PPPSC and Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships at the EO AML/CFT, said, “The UAE’s PPPSC has developed into an important part of the national strategy to counter financial crime. The role of the private sector is critical in helping authorities gain deeper insights and better understanding of criminal typologies and how to identify and stop financial crime. To increase effectiveness in this area, the UAE is preparing legislation that will facilitate the flow of strategic and tactical information through the PPPSC. We are delighted to partner with the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme of the Royal United Services Institute in this roundtable.”
Nick Maxwell, Head of the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme in the UK, highlighted the importance of sharing best practices. “The UAE is committed to enhancing policies to support collaboration between the public and private sectors. This roundtable provided a unique opportunity to share relevant experiences and insights from countries that have created collaboration initiatives to combat financial crime, helping to draw out the latest lessons from international practices in this area,” he said.
Jess Sommerlad, Head of Public Private Partnerships in the UK’s National Economic Crime Centre, shared remarks and insights from an international perspective. “The UK’s National Economic Crime Centre is pleased to engage with the UAE and partners in this valuable discussion. Public Private partnership is vital to build collective understanding of illicit finance and we support the work of the UK-UAE Illicit Finance Partnership in developing the response to this threat that both our countries face,” she stated.
Following the success of the roundtable, the EO AML/CFT and Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing programme agreed to convene an in-person event later in 2023.