Financial Crime World

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Financial Crimes on the Rise in Jordan: Types and Trends

Amman, Jordan - Financial crimes are on the rise in Jordan, with a growing number of cases involving money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities.

FATF Report Highlights Concerns

According to the FATF’s 2023 Follow-Up Report for Jordan, several areas of concern have been identified. These include:

  • The lack of effective measures in place to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Insufficient implementation of technical requirements
  • Failure to effectively confiscate and freeze assets linked to criminal activity

Transparency and Beneficial Ownership

The report also notes that there are concerns about the lack of transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements, making it difficult to track the flow of funds and identify potential money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

Other Areas of Concern

Additional areas of concern include:

  • Financial institution secrecy laws limiting the ability to share information and cooperate with authorities
  • Lack of effective customer due diligence procedures allowing suspicious transactions to go undetected

Progress Made, but More Needs to be Done

While Jordan has made some progress in implementing international standards, including the establishment of a financial intelligence unit and development of regulations and supervision of financial institutions, more needs to be done to address significant gaps that remain.

Government Pledges Action, But Will it Sufficient?

The Jordanian government has pledged to take steps to improve its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime. However, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will be sufficient to meet international standards.

Experts Warn of Growing Threat

Experts warn that the growing prevalence of financial crimes in Jordan poses a significant threat not only to the country’s financial stability but also to regional security. It is imperative that the government takes swift and effective action to address these concerns and bring Jordan into compliance with international standards.