London 4 July 2023<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
The European Chapter of the MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group (MENA FCCG) held a Members\u2019 meeting on 4 July to update and coordinate their efforts to combat financial crime.<\/p>\n
The meeting was held in the offices of the London branch of Riyad Bank.<\/p>\n
The meeting considered ways to develop a scorecard which members could use to measure the extent to which their banks have a robust anti-financial crime culture and the extent to which that culture is translated into business decisions. The meeting also reviewed the results of a Benchmarking Study of FCCG (Europe) members that assessed their Governance of Financial Crime Compliance and their Customer Due Diligence Practices.<\/p>\n
MENA FCCG (Europe) plans to hold a conference in autumn to review recent developments in the fight against financial crime in the UK and the EU, and to ensure that banks\u2019 efforts in Europe are being well-coordinated with those of Arab banks\u2019 head offices in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
There was a brief discussion of the illegal trade in wildlife, and Themis Services, the financial crime risk consultancy, agreed to provide members with guidance on this issue.<\/p>\n
The European Chapter of MENA FCCG is chaired by Thomas Noone, Head of Compliance at Europe Arab Bank.<\/p>\n
The London Arab Bankers Association acts as the Strategic Partner, and the Chapter has entered into a Strategic Alliance with Themis Services.<\/p>\n
MENA FCCG was created in 2016 as a force for Middle East and North African banks to take collective action against financial crime. The group comprises 13 leading financial institutions from nine MENA countries.<\/p>\n
The European Chapter of the MENA FCCG was founded in 2021 to lead and coordinate the efforts of Arab banks to fight financial crime in Europe.<\/p>\n