Attorney General HE Dr Issa bin Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi inaugurated Sunday a workshop entitled "Improving Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Regime (A holistic approach to mitigate financial crimes)", organised by the Public Prosecution in co-operation with the US Departments of Justice and Treasury.

Attended by US ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis, the workshop brought together high-level officials from about 16 countries, including attorneys general, assistant attorneys general, public prosecutors, judges, and officials from agencies concerned with combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Attorney General delivered an inaugural speech stressing the need for international co-operation and the exchange of expertise and experiences between countries and co-operation between the various judicial, executive and legislative authorities to limit the spread of the crimes of money laundering and financing terrorism.

The increase in organised crime activities and their negative impacts affect the interests of all countries given the money laundering and terrorist financing activities that take place within the international environment and across national borders, which requires multifaceted measures and global, regional, bilateral and national judicial arrangements, measures and follow-ups, he said.

He stressed that Qatar attaches great importance to the issue of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and places this within its national strategy within the framework of the general directions adopted in the field of criminal policy, especially in the field of combating organised crime, primarily money laundering and terrorist financing, through the numerous efforts of national institutions and the States accession to relevant international agreements.

He added that Qatar has spared no effort in recent years to develop the system for combating money laundering, financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons, by updating the legislative framework, establishing and strengthening specialised institutions, and implementing intensive regulatory reforms to ensure technical compliance with international standards.

It has also worked to develop its human and technological resources to keep pace with reforms and achieve high levels of results expected from this system, he added.

He pointed out that the results of the 2023 mutual evaluation of Qatar and its success in building an effective anti-money laundering and terrorist financing system that achieves technical compliance with the international standards required to combat money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, in which all relevant authorities in the country participated, represented by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Finance, the Qatar Central Bank, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Public Prosecution and other entities.

He noted the important role played by the Public Prosecution in Qatar in combating money laundering crimes, related predicate crimes and terrorism financing crimes, as it is the exclusive authority responsible for judicial investigation and criminal prosecution, in addition to being the authority supervising the implementation of targeted financial penalties.

He stressed that the Public Prosecution in Qatar, keen to play its important role in combating money laundering and financing terrorism, has worked to strengthen its systems and capabilities in supporting national and international efforts to combat cross-border financial crime and confront the new challenges created by the economic transformations witnessed by the world through the spread of financial technology and virtual currencies.

Although these tools provide opportunities for innovation and development, they are also exploited for illegal purposes. Therefore, international co-operation and the exchange of expertise and advanced technologies are essential to confront these challenges, and the role of central authorities in countries comes at the forefront of these efforts by strengthening this co-operation, direct communication, exchange of information and expertise, and cooperation in investigations and trials.

He said the Public Prosecution is keen to co-ordinate directly with its international and regional partners in the field of international co-operation and capacity building to implement the recommendations arising from the mutual evaluation and develop its work methods to achieve higher levels of effectiveness in its areas of competence.

The four-day workshop will be attended by specialists and experts in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as officials from public prosecutions, law enforcement agencies and financial institutions. The workshop aims to enhance capabilities, exchange best practices and discuss legal frameworks and modern technologies in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, which will contribute to strengthening an integrated system to effectively reduce financial crimes and find innovative solutions to current and future challenges.

The workshop represents a rich opportunity to highlight and exchange views, experiences on everything related to money laundering issues, such as banking supervision on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

In his speech, the US ambassador noted the co-operation between the American authorities and the Public Prosecution to organise this workshop, which deals with a very important topic at the present time, which will enhance and improve efforts to combat financial crimes, and work to put an end to terrorists, criminals, terrorist organisations and any other parties.

He added that the workshop is an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge through important discussions, in addition to learning ways to improve capabilities, especially with the presence of a large group of experts, specialists, public prosecutors and judges from the US and around the world. During the workshop, important topics will be addressed, such as schemes in financial crimes, new applications, some studies, and investigation techniques.

He pointed out that money laundering using complex technical tools, asset recovery companies, and other topics raised in the workshop are very important, as success in investigations or even in prosecution cannot be achieved without work and concerted efforts between the various competent authorities within one country, and with international counterparts, explaining that the US is working to protect its financial system, and therefore it has formed this partnership with the relevant authorities in Qatar to organize the training workshop, especially since this area requires cooperation.

The workshop topics cover a number of pressing issues and working papers, including best practices related to banking supervision in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, trade-based money laundering, money laundering using complex financial instruments, and money laundering patterns in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The workshop will also review topics related to financial technology and digital currencies, risks related to designated non-financial businesses and professions, highlighting the perspectives of correspondent banks with regional risk management, as well as reviewing financial crimes, along with international cooperation in the field of law enforcement and prosecutions, asset recovery from abroad and asset confiscation.

The workshop participants will also discuss important topics related to the use of information as evidence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the use of financial information to enhance evidence and track criminal cases, as well as the issue of money laundering linked to drug crimes.