FATF Commends Central Bank's Anti-Money Laundering Measures
Banks Economy News – Baghdad The Financial Action Task Force praised the measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
The representative of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Office at the Central Bank of Iraq, Hussein Al-Maqram, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah” followed by “Al-Eqtisad News” that the International Financial Action Task Force issued a report in which it confirmed the strength and solidity of the system followed in Iraq with regard to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
He explained that "the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) adopted, in its general meeting held in the State of Bahrain last year, the mutual evaluation report of the Republic of Iraq, which reflects its great commitment to implementing international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing."
Al-Maqram added that "the report reflects the solid system in Iraq to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and the significant efforts made by the state to combat these crimes in accordance with international standards in this regard," noting that "the report focused on understanding the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and the effectiveness of implementing measures to combat these crimes, including international cooperation, confiscation of criminal proceeds, and investigation and prosecution procedures."
Al-Muqrim explained that "the mutual evaluation process of the Republic of Iraq was completed in accordance with the standards approved by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The evaluation resulted in identifying strengths that reflect the efforts made to enhance compliance with the standards of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, in addition to identifying weaknesses that need improvement and treatment.
At the same time, the Republic of Iraq continues to work seriously to address the points identified in the report, by implementing corrective plans and procedures aimed at strengthening its financial and legal system in line with international requirements.
This comes within the framework of Iraq's commitment to continuous cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force, similar to the rest of the member states."
He added that "the office works within the framework of the National Strategy for Combating Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of Arms for the period (2023-2027), which aims to enhance efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism through a set of specific objectives and axes. ;
It is also currently working on following up and implementing the update of the national assessment process for money laundering and financing of terrorism risks related to the anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism system, which is one of the national efforts to enhance compliance with the international standards issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This process is considered an important tool for analyzing and identifying the risks facing the financial and economic system in Iraq."
The representative of the office at the Central Bank confirmed that, "Based on the annual and comprehensive training plan to raise the level of knowledge and commitment to the requirements imposed in the field of combating money laundering, financing terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons, the number of trainees concerned with the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing system reached (3415) trainees during the past year 2024."https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=52222
