UAE, Pakistan vow to fight financial crime

Dubai - In a series of measures announced recently, the UAE made it mandatory for hawala providers to register with the apex bank.

The UAE and Pakistan have signed an agreement to exchange information on money laundering, terror financing and other financial crimes to promote financial stability in their banking sectors, the Central Bank of the UAE said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ali Faisal Ba'Alawi, acting head of the UAE's Financial Intelligence Unit, and Ghulam Dastgir, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, signed the agreement.
In a series of measures announced recently, the UAE made it mandatory for hawala providers to register with the apex bank as part of anti-money laundering and counter finance terrorism measures.
In addition, the UAE's National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations also launched Fawri Tick - a unified system that integrates and aggregates various cases across federal and local authorities.
Dastgir stressed on the importance of working closely to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.
"The MoU with the Financial Monitoring Unit of Pakistan comes in line with the interest of the UAE in contributing effectively to the international community's common goal to exchange financial information related to money laundering and terrorism financing crimes.
This MoU also reflects the strong and deep relations between the UAE and Pakistan," Ba'Alawi.
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com