The National Summit on Counter-Terrorist Financing and Sanctions, hosted virtually by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) from Abu Dhabi, was inaugurated by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Chairman of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organizations Committee.
The CBUAE event included high-profile local and international speakers and 1,000 attendees to exhibit and debate innovative ideas in the area that would help financial institutions improve their capacities. The Summit’s second edition focused on showcasing the UAE’s commitment to safeguarding its financial system against illicit activity and creating a strong counter-terrorist funding enforcement framework across the country.
Leading subject matter experts from the UAE banking and insurance industries, as well as top officials from other UAE federal agencies and visitors from other GCC central banks, participated. The speakers included Ambassador Talal Al Teneiji, Director of the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control’s (CGMSIEC) Executive Office, complemented by international expert speakers from the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), amongst several others.
The program, which aims to increase knowledge and awareness among all licensed financial institutions under CBUAE’s mandate, relies heavily on the UAE’s CGMSIEC Executive Office, which is in charge of the country’s targeted financial sanctions mission.
The Summit featured a full day of keynote talks and presentations on topics such as proliferation funding typologies, nuclear proliferation mitigation and detection, export restriction of dual-use items, sanctions screening results, and risk assessment for proliferation financing.