Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Standard Chartered and Lloyds Bank, three financial institutions operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are launching a program to combat the issue of money laundering.
Under the initiative, the three banks, in association with the United Kingdom-based compliance training consultancy, Lessons Learned Limited, will launch a series of anti-money laundering training programs for their employees.
“DIB is committed to the principles of Islam, which forbid such activities and are proud to serve as the catalyst for this unique initiative,” stated Mohammed Khalfan Bin Kharbash, UAE minister of state for finance and industry affairs and DIB chairman.
Kharbash further said that this joint program was a demonstration of the resolve of the banking community in the country to fully support the government's initiatives in combating money laundering. “Such an initiative also serves to demonstrate our continuing commitment to promoting a well-regulated financial services sector for quality investors in the UAE.”
The training program, which is entitled ‘Fighting Money Laundering,’ has been developed as a multi-tiered initiative, which will provide ongoing training solutions for the banks' staff. The training curriculum, which will be updated on a regular basis, will form an integral part of the business training calendars of the three banks.
Starting with programs for senior managers in the third and fourth quarters of 2002, the program will develop further during next year, with the addition of modules for supervisors and staff. This will be followed by specialized training courses, tailored to specific job and product types, which will address the associated money laundering risks that are attached to them.
Richard Stockdale, Middle East Area Manager of Lloyds TSB Bank, said that industry partnerships that shared experiences and best practices were the best way to formulate policies and mechanisms that would slow the spread of crimes such as money laundering.
“The training program will cover critical areas such as: customer identification, due diligence, account monitoring, record keeping and most importantly, the recognition and reporting of suspicious transactions, and correspondent banking,” he added.
Established on 1975, DIB is considered to be the first Islamic bank in the world that has implemented the principles of Islam in all its practices.
Standard Chartered is an international emerging markets bank. It employs nearly 30,000 people in over 500 offices in more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, United Kingdom and the Americas. The Bank serves both Consumer and Wholesale banking customers.
Established in 1978 in the UAE, the Lloyds TSB Bank plc branch provides a corporate, commercial, retail, treasury and wealth management services throughout the Gulf countries and Iran. Lloyds TSB Dubai is a wholly owned branch of the Lloyds TSB Group, which with the assets of $305 billion is also Aaa rated by Moody's. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
