MENA FCCG’s Europe Holds Second Plenary
Founding Members of the Europe Chapter of the MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group (FCCG) held their second meeting on 24 February 2022 hosted by National Bank of Egypt (UK) at their offices in central London.
Members held detailed discussions on the UK FCA’s recent ‘Dear CEO’ Letter related to AML/CFT issues in trade finance and on the latest regulatory and legislative developments. Members agreed to establish contact with the City of London Corporation and the City of London Police, UK’s national lead authority for fighting fraud and cybercrime. Members also agreed to reach out to the Prudential Conduct Authority (FCA) and to financial authorities in the EU to ensure Arab banks in Europe have a seat at the table and perceived as part of the solution to the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and financial standard setters and regulators.
The Europe Chapter of the MENA FCCG was created in December 2021 and is chaired by Dhar Solanki, MLRO of EAB(UK). Nora Amin, Head of Compliance at NBE (UK), is Deputy Chair. Chapter’s Advisory Committee includes Themis Services (Carel van Randwyck), the Arab Bankers Association (Andrew Cunningham), Rasha Mortada (Group Chief Compliance Officer of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank) and Mohamed Afifi (Group Chief Compliance Officer of Banque Misr). Founding Members comprise 10 institutions, represented either by officers in London or in Paris.
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