Arab Banks in Europe Meet to Co-ordinate Efforts Against Financial Crime
London 4 July 2023
The European Chapter of the MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group (MENA FCCG) held a Members’ meeting on 4 July to update and coordinate their efforts to combat financial crime.
The meeting was held in the offices of the London branch of Riyad Bank.
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.
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’ efforts in Europe are being well-coordinated with those of Arab banks’ head offices in the Middle East.
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.
The European Chapter of MENA FCCG is chaired by Thomas Noone, Head of Compliance at Europe Arab Bank.
The London Arab Bankers Association acts as the Strategic Partner, and the Chapter has entered into a Strategic Alliance with Themis Services.
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.
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.
Contact:
Thomas Noone, Head of Compliance, Europe Arab Bank, Thomas.noone@eabplc.com
