Financial Crime World

Title: Qatar’s Economic Resilience Amid Global Financial Crimes: A Chairman’s Perspective

Qatar’s Commitment to Combating Financial Crimes

Doha: Amidst the global surge in financial crimes and with the upcoming FIFA World Cup bringing in over 1.5 million visitors, Dr. Hashim Al Sayed, Chairman of Qatar’s Association of Certified Public Accountants (QCPA), shared his perspective on Qatar’s financial sector’s resilience against criminal activities at ‘The Effective Financial Crime Compliance Conference’.

A Robust Financial System

  • Qatar’s financial sector is exceptionally strong
  • Rigorous policies and regulations in place against financial crimes
  • Global rank of 31st out of 180 countries based on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index
  • Well-focused anti-corruption strategy

The Challenge of Financial Crimes

  • Financial crimes exceed $7 trillion, surpassing Japan’s economy
  • Various forms of financial crimes: extortion, counterfeiting, fraud, financial breaches, fake accounts, corruption, money laundering, and terrorist financing
  • Represent roughly 7.4 percent of the global output

Hosting the FIFA World Cup: Adequate Measures

  • Visitors must provide a Hayya card for access
  • Visitors restricted from carrying more than QR50,000 or must declare it
  • Strict measures to protect Qatar’s financial sector from illicit activities

Impact of Financial Crimes on Financial Institutions

  • Riadh Al Fayech, Chief Financial Crime Compliance & Governance at QNB Group, emphasized the impact of financial crimes on financial institutions
  • Significant financial burden: fines, time, and resources to rebuild reputation and trust

Technological Solutions to Enhance AML/CFT Measures

  • New technologies offer automated solutions for detecting and preventing financial crimes
  • Enhance FATF standards, ensure financial inclusion, promote swifter, cheaper AML/CFT measures

Ongoing Discussions on Combating Financial Crimes

Topics at the conference include:

  • Preventing money laundering
  • Illicit gold flows
  • Global AML initiatives
  • Fintech in AML
  • Governance and anti-corruption
  • Legal instruments to combat financial crimes.