DOHA: Governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani announced that QCB, Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) have each issued guidance to their financial institutions addressing critical areas of compliance with the regulators’ anti-money laundering and combating terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules and requirements, QNA reported.

The QCB Governor said, “Qatar’s AML/CFT framework meets international standards and best practice and its effectiveness is essential to protecting the integrity of its financial system and the international financial system. The new guidance will ensure that Qatar’s financial institutions understand our expectations and, thanks to the collaboration between the QCB, QFMA and QFCRA, financial institutions will have a clear and consistent roadmap to best in class compliance.”

The guidance was prepared in collaboration with the QCB, QFMA and QFCRA and its publication delivers clear and consistent guidance to all financial institutions in Qatar regarding the steps required to comply with certain critical aspects of the QCB’s, QFMA’s and QFCRA’s existing AML/CFT rules.

Specifically, the newly-published guidance delivers detailed direction for all financial institutions on AML/CFT matters related to customer due diligence, correspondent banking, reliance on third parties, high risk jurisdictions, beneficial ownership issues, legal entity transparency, and the regulators’ expectations for the risk-based systems and controls that financial institutions are required to implement to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.