CEO of the National Financial Intelligence Centre Shaikha Mai bint Mohamed Al Khalifa has inaugurated a workshop on the illegal use of national financial systems in collaboration with the US Treasury. The event was held from March 15-16.
The Centre's CEO delivered a speech on the use of a risk-based approach to AML/CFT and related crimes and recognise cryptocurrency as high risk.
She highlighted that Bahrain welcomes foreign direct investment and financial technology (FinTech) in order for Bahrain to be an attractive target for legitimate business by stopping the flow of any illegal funds and that the Kingdom of Bahrain contains a number of virtual asset service providers, which contributed to the effectiveness of taking a Public-private partnership strategy, effective for a “zero tolerance” approach to any illegal activity in Bahrain.
She referred to the centre's belief that money laundering and terrorist financing are international issues and can only be combated effectively through political commitment, technical capacity and international cooperation and that the Center appreciates the technical support it receives from the United States.
During the workshop, several topes were discussed, including the best practices for investigations related to virtual assets, in addition to the use of blockchain monitoring and tracking tools and practical applications for tracking virtual assets. The adoption and illegal movement of the GEO cryptocurrency were also mentioned.
