Paris: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, alongside the National Committee for Combating Terrorism, is presently engaged in the General Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This gathering, taking place in Paris, is scheduled to conclude on October 25, 2024.
The delegation from the Sultanate of Oman is led by Tahir Salem Al Amri, the Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), and Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The primary agenda of this meeting involves the discussion and approval of the Sultanate of Oman's report on the systems in place for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
It is important to highlight that the mutual evaluation process is contingent upon Oman's membership in the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and its affiliation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) through its membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
According to the established work system of both entities, Oman, in alignment with the rest of the group's member states, is mandated to undergo a mutual evaluation process conducted by experts accredited by both groups. This process is in accordance with the international recommendations, as well as the mutual evaluation methodology, which was adopted in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
In line with the timetable set forth by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the mutual evaluation processes of the Sultanate, Oman has already completed the stage of submitting a technical compliance file encompassing all legislation, including laws, instructions, procedures, guidelines, and circulars, in compliance with the FATF's forty recommendations.
Furthermore, the submission of the compliance effectiveness file, which aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering systems based on each of the eleven direct results specified in the effectiveness evaluation methodology of the group, was also successfully completed.
The Sultanate of Oman has successfully concluded the field visit program conducted by the Financial Action Task Force's team of assessment experts, spanning from January 29th to February 14th, 2024.
This comprehensive field visit program was characterized by an extensive series of sessions and meetings with various government agencies, financial and non-financial institutions, associations, and charitable organizations mandated by the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law to report any suspicions of money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Following its last assessment in 2011, the Sultanate of Oman has dedicated significant efforts towards enhancing its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework to align with global standards.
To this end, Law No. 30/2016 on Combating Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing was enacted, alongside the development and implementation of regulations aimed at strengthening the supervisory powers of both financial and non-financial regulatory entities.
Furthermore, the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing has been actively engaged in the development of national assessments for money laundering and terrorist financing risks, formulating strategies to combat these issues, and developing action plans for their implementation. Additionally, the committee has organized awareness-raising events for both the public and private sectors to enhance understanding and cooperation in these critical areas.
