Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) is expected to obtain a full membership at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2018, said Abdulaziz Al-Furaih, SAMA Vice Governor, speaking at the opening session on Monday of the 8th Compliance & Anti Money Laundering (AML) Seminar in Saudi Arabia. The seminar is held in partnership with the Institute of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Regional regulates have taken tremendous steps against money laundering. Several new assessments have emerged including the set of recommendations by FATF and the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENA FATF). The deployment of capable resources in the financial sector will drive effective AML national agendas and also help governments meet the international requirements." Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, MENA, Thomson Reuters, said: "According to Thomson Reuters Global Cost of Compliance report, around 80 per cent of the respondents in the Middle East expect the cost of senior compliance staff to increase in 2016. The findings confirm that more than 84 percent of the Middle Eastern respondents expect the overall compliance budgets to hike throughout 2016." "Industry research reveals increased cyber-security threats in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, which we have seen manifest in the widespread banking malware in the UAE, phishing attacks in Saudi Arabia, and most recently the cyber-attacks of financial institutions in Qatar," he added. Hesham Tashkandi, Advisor to the Governor and Director, Consumer Protection Department, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, said: "Saudi Arabia has a young population that is technology savvy. As technology evolves, our objective is to increase the visibility of financial transactions and protect the economy. We firmly believe in enhancing the integrity of the system through inclusion, integrity, as well as data and consumer protection." Najjar noted that effective compliance programs will continue to demand a balance of technology with human intervention to ultimately serve to manage the risks associated with operating in the region. — SG
