Several laws, regulations been passed: Haroun

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: Kuwait leaves no stone unturned in its fight against money laundering and terrorism due to their dire effects on finances and societies, says Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmad Al-Haroun.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th International Conference for the support of anti-money laundering measures Monday, Al-Haroun pointed out several laws and regulations have been passed, and a national committee comprising of experts and government representatives, headed by the governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait has been established and has been working on the prevention of the menace.

The minister also commended the participation of British Security Minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, some people from the US and the local and regional sections, saying their presence is a positive reinforcement to the battle. He declared Kuwait as safe in this aspect, since many preventive measures have been put in place by the government to keep 'unclean' money away from the country. He disclosed the new commercial company law will help prevent money laundering, as well as improve commercial and financial activities.

On the other hand, Neville-Jones extolled the cooperation between Kuwait and Britain on many fronts, including the agreement signed in August on international security, combating terrorism, organized crime, human and drug trafficking and cyber crimes. She reiterated the negative effect of money laundering on international security, pointing out that it enables terrorists to carry out organized attacks. She said incriminating the menace is a step in the right direction, but proper implementation of the laws is necessary to eliminate terrorism.  She supported recommendations for every country to set up an active financial investigation unit that will analyze transaction reports to alert on money laundering. She added the good intentions of religious charities are being exploited by terrorists, while emphasizing the need to safeguard funds to ensure their use for the proposed purposes.

Undersecretary Rashid Al-Tabtabaei affirmed the ministry has deployed a greater part of its capability to fight money laundering through empowering the anti-money laundering office in conducting field investigations in money exchanges, jewelry and gold companies, in addition to the insurance sector. He said the creation of broad awareness has also been given priority and an Internet site has been opened to educate people about the threats of effects of money laundering.

Al-Tabtabaei discussed the roles of national institutions in the battle, noting the Central Bank has set up a unit solely for that purpose. The Interior Ministry, he said, has also done a lot to curb drug trafficking, while the Public Prosecution investigates into any information on the crime. He added the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has also subjected all charity works in Kuwait to advanced licenses, in addition to the steps of the Kuwait Stock Market in this aspect. He commended the Customs Department also for their surveillance on items of relevance to the matter when they enter Kuwait to ensure they are clean and legal.

Director of the anti-money laundering office Sheikh Namr Fahd Al-Sabah disclosed the office has been reviewing the financial and commercial files of companies whenever their licenses are renewed.       

© Arab Times 2010