Ministry of Economy organizes training workshop for directors of inspection, enforcement & legal affairs at registrars in UAE
Ministry of Economy organizes training workshop for directors of inspection, enforcement & legal affairs at registrars in UAE
Ministry of Economy organizes training workshop for directors of inspection, enforcement & legal affairs at registrars in UAE
Safeya Al Safi: Ministry of Economy strives to regulate real beneficiary procedures in the UAE by raising awareness of registrars
The Ministry of Economy (MoE), in cooperation with the Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), held a training workshop for directors of inspection, enforcement and legal affairs at company registrars, including those from commercial free zones in the country. The session was held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
The workshop aimed to enhance the awareness of registrars on the legal provisions and effective inspection mechanisms, and the imposition of fines on violators. The workshop was attended by nearly 150 department directors and employees of economic development departments and commercial free zones, in addition to representatives of the AML/CFT Executive Office.
Safeya Al Safi, Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department at the Ministry of Economy, explained that the Ministry is keen to regulate the real beneficiary procedures in the country as it is one of the main objectives of the national AML/CFT strategy. She said that the Ministry is working alongside its partners from the AML/CFT Executive Office, the economic development departments, the private sector, and the relevant authorities to raise the awareness of employees working in this key sector through such training workshops. These efforts are necessary to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), thus enhancing the UAE’s reputation as a highly competitive global economic hub.
In her speech during the workshop, Al Safi conveyed the appreciation of H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; and H.E. Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Monitoring and Follow Up Sector at the Ministry of Economy, and Chairman of the Sub-Committee for Company Registrars in the UAE, for the attendees’ tireless efforts to implement the national AML/CFT strategy. This is particularly relevant in organizing real beneficiary procedures in the 5th outcome (IO5). These efforts fall in line with the strategic initiative 5.3 on plans for desk and field inspection of legal persons and the imposition of fines in accordance with Cabinet Resolution No. 53 of 2021 on administrative penalties on violators of the provisions of Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020 regulating the real beneficiary procedures.
Rola Mansour, a policy and risk specialist at the Anti-Money Laundering Department, Ministry of Economy; and Yahya Zakaria, a legal advisor at the Commercial Registration and Certificates of Origin Department at the Ministry of Economy, delivered detailed technical presentations on the application of legal provisions, effective inspection mechanisms and the imposition of fines on violators.
This hosting of the session falls in line with the Ministry of Economy’s relentless efforts to meet the requirements of the operational plan for registrars in the country. It stems from the national AML/CFT Strategy 2020-2023, especially the areas related to office and field inspections and the imposition of fines on legal persons and legal arrangements, in violation of the requirements of Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020 regulating real beneficiary procedures.
