EU Global Facility launches First Beneficial Ownership Activity in UAE
ABU DHABI, 28 August 2023 – The EU Global Facility on Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) on Monday 28th of August launched its inaugural Beneficial Ownership activity in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Spanning over three days, this activity centered around the topic of “Beneficial ownership registers as competent authorities”. It brought together competent authorities from the UAE, Jordan, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta, with the aim of fostering cooperation and knowledge exchange among them.
“Business and BO registers are essential instruments for governments and businesses to implement functionning and effective AML frameworks. Registries are confronted to increased complexities in operating their registers and need to adapt their business operating model continuously in a fast-evolving environment of international standards, technological advancements, increased stakeholder expectations, data quality and enhanced interoperability” stated Yves Gonner, Director of the Luxembourg Register, while highlighting the relevance of this week’s workshop in bringing together jurisdictions of various backgrounds, context and BO registration models.
A number of key topics were covered during the training, including technical implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations 24 and 25, the role of analysis and cooperation in ensuring access to adequate and accurate beneficial ownership information, as well as enforcement and sanctioning mechanisms.
The event featured contributions from distinguished experts from financial intelligence units and beneficial ownership registers who shared first hand insights gained from their experiences in implementing beneficial ownership frameworks in their respective jurisdictions. In addition to panel discussions and presentations, the activity incorporated group exercises, case studies and dedicated sessions on the challenges and possible solutions to address risks related to complex and cross border structures. These interactive sessions sought to enable participants to learn from practical scenarios and enhance their understanding of the complexities involved in implementing effective beneficial ownership registration mechanisms.
Started in April 2021, the collaboration between the UAE and the EU Global Facility has covered a wide range of AML/CFT-related matters, from justice to cryptocurrency and correspondent banking. Today marked the 21st technical assistance activity delivered by the EU project.
This project is funded by the European Union.