Financial Crime World

Yemen’s Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Marred by Lack of Resources and Coordination

A new report has highlighted significant deficiencies in Yemen’s anti-money laundering (AML) mechanism, citing a shortage of human, financial, and technical resources within the Ministry of Social Affairs as well as a large gap in communication between the ministry and national non-profit societies and institutions.

Deficiencies in AML Committee

The report assessed Yemen’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations and found that:

  • The country’s AML committee lacked representation from key authorities, including:
    • Customs Authority
    • General Investment Authority
    • Ministry of Social Affairs
  • There was no sufficient coordination between the different members of the committee and the authorities they represented

Lack of Coordination in Implementing International Conventions

Yemen has ratified several international conventions aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including:

  • 1998 Vienna Convention
  • 2000 Palermo Convention
  • 1999 UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism

However, the report noted that there was no sufficient coordination between the different authorities responsible for implementing these conventions.

The report highlighted concerns about Yemen’s legal framework, which:

  • Allows for judicial cooperation in the field of mutual legal assistance (MLA) and extradition
  • Does not provide for clear constraints on the execution of MLA requests
  • Lacks public information available on the number of requested and executed representations

Lack of Transparency and Accountability

The report also raised concerns about Yemen’s lack of transparency and accountability in its AML efforts, including:

  • No statistics available to assess the effectiveness of mutual legal assistance and extradition cooperation
  • Laws do not provide for clear constraints on the execution of MLA requests
  • Lack of public information available on the number of requested and executed representations

Conclusion

Overall, the report concluded that Yemen’s AML mechanism is marred by a lack of resources, coordination, and transparency, which hinders its ability to effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The report recommended that the country take steps to address these deficiencies and improve its AML efforts in order to meet international standards.