UAE and Egypt Collaborate to Fight Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Richard M. February 17, 2023 5 minute read

UAE has signed MoU with Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit to strengthen the collaboration to eliminate the risk of Financial Crimes.

The partnership aims to create and further improve the collaboration between the Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, specifically in enhancing knowledge exchange and risk assessment with the best practices of AML/CFT, to strengthen the response against shared risks and threats.

Hamid AlZaabi, Director General of the EO AML/CTF, said that the MoU builds upon long-standing coordination between the UAE and Egypt. He explained, “The signing of the MoU is yet another step in a long series of bilateral meetings and achievements that have undoubtedly strengthened national and regional efforts to counter illicit financial flows. I would like to thank our Egyptian partners for hosting a productive meeting and for sharing a valuable update on tactics, typologies, and the latest developments. The signing of the MoU formalises the exchange of knowledge, experience, and expertise in the areas of combating money laundering, financing terrorism, and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. By strengthening our cooperation in the fight against financial crime, we protect our national economies and international financial systems.”

Judge Ahmed Khalil, Chairman of the EMLCU, said that the signing of the MoU is a natural progression in cooperation between Egypt and the UAE. “We have cooperated closely for the past five decades, a milestone that we celebrated last October on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Egypt-UAE relations. Ultimately, the bilateral partnership between our countries is based on the pursuit of shared interests.”

He also pointed out that the signing of the MoU reinforces effective cooperation between the EO AML/CTF and EMLCU. He said, “The MoU will also play a role in encouraging the sharing of experiences through bilateral meetings and the exchange of best practices, including the establishment and amendment of laws, supervisory instructions, guidance, mechanisms, and procedures to enhance the effectiveness of both parties in relation to combating money laundering and related predicate offences, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.”

The Regional Representative of UNDOC (UN Office of Drugs and Crime), Judge Hatem Aly said that the authority welcomes the partnership which expands with EO (Executive Office) AML/CTF. It will create national efforts to investigate and prevent illegal financial transactions, combating money laundering on regional, national and international levels.

In this regard, he said, “Through this framework of partnership and cooperation, and in order to ensure close cooperation with similar units at the regional and international levels, the President and members of the UNODC for the GCC support the efforts of the EO AML/CTF to communicate with concerned authorities in the region to exchange experiences and knowledge in the field.”

He continued: “The visit of the Head of the Executive Office and a high-ranking delegation from the UAE comes at the invitation of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Unit. The signing of the MoU between the EO AML/CTF and EMLCU to deepen cooperation, including with the UNODC, further serves to combat organised crime regionally and internationally in line with UN standards.”

The MoU will also leverage AML/CTF’s collaboration between UNODC and GCC region by providing information access and other inter-agency programs.