Abu Dhabi: The number of suspicious transactions detected by the UAE increased to 2,711 in the past year from 1,750 in 2009, data provided by the UAE Central Bank showed yesterday.
The numbers are based on suspicious transactions reported by banks, financial and non-financial institutions. In 2008, the number of suspicious transactions that were detected by the UAE stood at 1,170.
"The number of suspicious transactions continues to rise. But it's not worrisome. There's going to be a lot more money on the move — good money as well as bad money," Bryan Stirewalt, Managing Director of Supervision at the Dubai Financial Services Authority, told reporters on the sidelines of a workshop at the Central Bank.
"For criminal activities, our job is to alert the Central Bank," he added. Abdul Rahim Mohammad Al Awadi, executive director and head of Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit (AMLSCU) of the UAE said at the workshop that the UAE has sought to pursue a clear strategy to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
"It [the UAE] has an active legislative framework and a strong regulatory and supervisory system for supervision of banks, other financial institutions, economic and commercial institutions," Al Awadi said.
"This has been done... to ensure that all individuals and entities come within the purview of the AML/CFT regime," he added.
