Money
laundering was an issue even before the tragic events of September
11, 2001 brought it into sharp focus. The flow of illegally obtained
money has been attracting the attention of governments the worldover.
As early as November 2000, the Central Bank of the UAE issued Regulation
(No. 24/2000) "Concerning Procedures for Anti-Money Laundering",
which defined money laundering, as well as the various activities
which should trigger review and reporting. This regulation was further
refined in June 2001 and, after 9/11, again during November 2001.
Thereafter, the UAE Government enacted Federal Law No. 4 of 2002
in January 2002, which made money laundering a criminal offense
in the UAE. But attracting serious attention of professional auditors
are the regulations issued by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce
with respect to fighting corporate money laundering transactions.
The regulations issued in July 2002 expand the scope of the audit
significantly and require the auditor to carry out extensive verification
to detect corporate money laundering activity. The regulations seek
to impose personal responsibility on the auditor to report suspicious
transactions. We have, as I am sure the other firms must have, looked
at these regulations closely and are finalizing our approach and
documentation. Our offshore department also looks at the issue from
the perspective of companies seeking to enter the UAE market either
from an offshore jurisdiction or through any of the free zones.
It is our privilege to feature an article by Mr.
Sharief Al-Awadhi, in this issue's guest column. Mr. Al-Awadhi is
the Director General of the Fujairah Free Zone and he highlights
the mutually beneficial relations between the emirate of Fujairah
and the Fujairah Free Zone. We also are thankful to Mr. Hugh Sharples
and Mr. Ross Anderson, of Hepworth PME LLC who share with us their
experience at Hepworth.
Risk and profit, as all of us are aware, are two
sides of the same coin. A judicious mitigation of business risk
should result in an increase in profit. The article on Business
Risk and Control Review in this issue addresses the matter. We also
carry a "Newsflash" for NRIs and PIOs regarding new rules
for settlement of credit card debts.
As 2002 bids us goodbye and 2003 beckons, I take
the opportunity to wish all of you a very happy and profitable new
year.
