UAE officials meet with Kazakh financial monitoring agency

UAE representatives hosted a series of high-level meetings with a delegation from the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan (FMA-RK) in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) announced on Saturday.

Officials from the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, and the Financing of Illegal Organisations (GS-NAMLCFTC) hosted the meeting, which surrounded the exchange of insights into the latest practices and approaches to combatting financial crimes. 

The Secretary-General of the General Secretariat and Vice Chair of NAMLCFTC, Hamid Saif AlZaabi, emphasised the importance of international cooperation between the UAE and Kazakhstan, saying, "This meeting is part of a series of regular sessions that reflect the UAE's strong commitment to enhancing international partnerships in combating financial crimes, especially in light of the current geoeconomic developments.

He expressed his pride in hosting strategic partners from Kazakhstan in Abu Dhabi to discuss pioneering initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of local and regional frameworks for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

"In addition to our bilateral relations, both countries actively engage in the Eurasian Group under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), reflecting our shared commitment to addressing these cross-border crimes. Through the exchange of expertise and information among experts and specialists, we continue to strengthen the strategies in place and stay updated on the latest developments and trends in this vital field," AlZaabi added.

Janat Elimanov, Chairman of the Financial Monitoring Agency of Kazakhstan, said that the UAE and Kazakhstan share a high-level commitment to combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The discussions in Abu Dhabi provided a valuable opportunity to review the progress made on joint initiatives, as well as to exchange the latest insights and lessons learned from the national systems for combating financial crime.

"Both Kazakhstan and the UAE possess extensive local expertise in areas such as technology, data, and systems, which has allowed us to hold these very productive meetings," he added.

During the two-day meetings, senior members of (GS-NAMLCFT) presented an overview of the UAE's comprehensive understanding of risks, developed through the completion of the updated National Risk Assessment and recent updates to the Virtual Asset Risk Assessment. These insights were significantly reflected in the UAE's National Strategy for AML/CFT/CFP for the years 2024–2027, which was published in the last quarter of 2024.

The latest developments in the UAE's efforts to combat AML/CFT were reviewed, with a focus on current projects and new national initiatives in this field. One of the key highlights was the "AML TRACK" platform, an advanced, secure government digital network that connects relevant stakeholders and serves as a comprehensive analytical tool for tracking AML/CFT activities in the country. It aims to ensure data accuracy and enhance information governance, thereby strengthening the ability to monitor changes and developments in a sustainable manner.

Additionally, the National Statistics Platform was introduced, an innovative digital infrastructure developed by the General Secretariat to enhance the data collection approach, ensuring its accuracy and easy access, which contributes to improving the quality of available information.

Team members from the Public-Private Partnership Forum discussed one of its initiatives aimed at enhancing dialogue and technical cooperation between the public and private sectors to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The initiative provides a comprehensive legal framework for cooperation between government entities and the private sector, focusing on identifying and mitigating financial crime risks through the commitment of relevant parties to comply with the updated National Risk Assessment recommendations and international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Kazakh delegation concluded its visit with a meeting at the UAE's Financial Intelligence Unit, where both sides shared expertise and discussed best practices for detecting financial crimes, particularly those involving virtual assets and other emerging financial threats.

These high-level meetings reflect the shared commitment of the UAE and Kazakhstan to strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging expertise to combat transnational financial crimes. Through this partnership, the two nations aim to enhance global financial systems and ensure greater security and stability on an international scale.