The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), hosted the 39th Plenary and Working Group Meetings of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) during the period from November 16 to 21, 2024, in Riyadh.
The meetings, under the presidency of the Government of the Republic of Yemen, witnessed the presence of senior officials and experts on Anti-Money laundering, combating terrorist financing and combating the financing of proliferation from member countries, observers countries and regional and international organizations.
The participants discussed key topics related to AML/CTF and CPF, as well as the outcomes of the Financial Intelligence Units Forum (FIUF) and the Operational Experts Forum on Terrorist Financing (OFTF). The agenda will also include reviewing the reports of MENAFATF's Working Groups, including the Risk Committee, Mutual Evaluation Working Group, and Technical Assistance and Applications Working Group.
On the sidelines of the MENAFATF meeting, a conference on the latest developments in AML/CTF and combating proliferation financing was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of MENAFATF.
The conference was inaugurated by H.E. the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Mr. Ayman Al-Sayari, and included four main sessions. The first addressed the adoption of international standards by the FATF and FATF style regional bodies. The second session discussed mutual evaluation processes: Lessons learned and future outlook. The third focused on virtual assets: FATF Standards and countries' experiences. And the fourth and final session discussed asset tracking and recovery: FATF Standards and putting mechanisms for cooperation into effect.
Hosting these meetings comes as part of the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia's efforts supporting regional and international efforts led by MENAFATF in the Middle East and North Africa region that aim at combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, as well as protecting the economic, social and political systems in the region from the risks of these crimes.
