Bahrain will soon introduce an anti-money laundering law in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Minister of Finance and National Economy, Abdullah Hassan Saif, was quoted by Bahrain Tribune as saying on Tuesday.
Speaking at the annual dinner reception of the Bahrain Bankers' Society, the minister said that money-laundering did not exist in Bahrain and the government had already introduced measures to prevent its emergence.
According to the paper, Bahrain was the first GCC county to undergo GCC/FAFT Mutual Evaluation on measures to curb money-laundering. "Both the Mutual Evaluation Report and a presentation by Bahrain were favorably received at the Madrid FATF Plenary Session in October and Bahrain has not been placed on FAFT's review list," the report said.
Madrid FATF conference for 2001-2002 took place from October 2 to 6 with the aim of delivering another crack of the whip to the 15 countries deemed 'uncooperative' in the fight against money laundering. These countries were listed as: the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Dominica, Israel, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Panama, the Philippines, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The UAE also said last October that it was preparing to issue a money laundering law within three months – Albawaba.com
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