Financial Crime World

Iraq’s Financial Institutions Emphasize Compliance in Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

Strengthening Compliance Measures to Combat Financial Crimes

In a bid to bolster the country’s efforts to combat financial crimes, Elaf Islamic Bank has strengthened its compliance department to ensure adherence to regulations and guidelines set by the Central Bank of Iraq and international bodies. The bank has revamped its compliance policies, procedures, processes, and systems to guarantee effective and dynamic management.

Key Areas of Focus

  • Know-Your-Customer (KYC) Policies: Ensuring strict adherence to KYC policies enables customer due diligence and allows for risk-based classification of customers.
  • Suspicious Activity Identification and Escalation: The revised compliance team identifies and escalates suspicious activities to management and regulatory bodies.

Employee Training and Audits

Regular training sessions are held to equip employees with the necessary skills to identify suspicious transactions and prevent non-compliance issues. Quarterly and yearly independent audits are conducted in-house and externally, respectively, to guarantee compliance with Central Bank of Iraq and international regulations on:

  • Anti-money laundering
  • Combating financial terrorism
  • Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

Compliance Policy

Elaf Islamic Bank’s compliance policy demands adherence to the highest ethical standards, full observance of all applicable laws and regulations in Iraq, as well as international best practices and conventions. The policy also requires compliance with internal policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures approved by the Board from time to time.

FATCA Compliance

In light of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) coming into effect on July 1st, 2014, Elaf Islamic Bank has declared its status as a “FATCA compliant” reporting financial institution under the “Model 2 IGA.” The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has assigned the bank a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), L7VZ9D.99999.SL.368.