“Arab banks and financial institutions should seek professional help to fight money- laundering by setting up advanced systems to protect themselves,' said Geoff Land, regional manager for Eastern Networks, speaking at a joint presentation with SIDE International in Dubai recently.
Land said: “It is essential that financial institutions seek professional help as money-laundering is conducted by a network that uses modern tools to beat the system. We know that many Gulf governments have finalized laws on making money-laundering a serious crime, but the big question facing financial institutions is how to apply the law and protect themselves while preventing illegal financial activities from taking place in their institutions.”
“The solution lies in taking preventive steps to detect cases of money-laundering through a shared platform of advanced technology and access to shared solutions,” he conclude.
Eric Aerts, SIDE International’s product manager, said that the money-laundering scenario in the Middle East was due to undergo a change since many governments as well as global organizations were involved in efforts to fight this problem. “Advanced globally accepted and proven solutions are one of the most effective tools against money-laundering.”
The Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the Arab organization that advises on financial and industrial policies in Gulf states, has called for setting up a joint council to fight money-laundering. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have introduced legislation making money laundering a serious crime, leaving it to financial institutions to implement procedures concerning illegal financial transactions.
Eastern Networks, a Dubai-based Information Technology (IT) solutions provider, recently entered into a partnership with SWIFT Interface and Data Extraction (SIDE), offering financial institutions a proven tool to help combat illegal financial activities.
The solution offered by Eastern Networks and SIDE is an online filter process, which compares selected character strings to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list and other lists such as the European Commission list or ones created internally by the institution itself. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
