Abu-Ghazaleh Calls for International Cooperation to Eliminate Money Laundering
26 Apr 2003BEIRUT - A seminar was organized in Beirut on April 26, 2003, by the Central Bank of Lebanon in conjunction with the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA), on the monitoring systems, procedures and responsibilities related to suspicious funds, under the patronage of Mr. Fahim Mudad, Vice-Governor of the Bank of Lebanon.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, ASCA Chairman, delivered a speech at the opening session in which he confirmed that money laundering is an affront to all moral and spiritual values of the nation, besides the fact that its perpetrators are committing their crimes in broad daylight in violation of national and international laws.
He stated that : “this is a negative phenomenon that requires a collaboration of efforts to resist it, not only from governments, but also from major financial companies and banks, which should make this one of their top priorities. They should closely and comprehensively monitor large and complex transactions, and particularly those that go through banks and lack economic motives and legal cover.”
He added that the crime of money laundering has made the major industrial nations collaborate and form what is known as the Financial Committee to Combat Money Laundering. Further, he elaborated that numerous Arab states have worked consistently with the efforts undertaken internationally in this arena, and have issued numerous legislations and laws to fight this phenomenon and distance it from banks and the national economy.
Abu-Ghazaleh called on international bodies and institutions that are keen to maintain the well-being and growth of the global economy, to have a more effective role in combating money laundering, by criminalizing and punishing any nation and/or entity that is proven to facilitate such activity. He described this phenomenon as a battle between good and evil, with accounting and auditing practitioners playing a vital role in it.
The seminar also reviewed a number of presentations that included a definition of suspicious funds, internal monitoring at banks and official financial oversight. Numerous laws in Arab countries were surveyed, and the Lebanese experience in this field was considered.
Participating in the presentation were Mr. Tawfiq Ayoub, ASCA Board member, Mr. Antoine Matar, certified accountant, Mr. Hikmat Salim from Lebanon and Dr. Mohammed Ba’asiri, the Secretary-General of the Special Investigative Committee in Lebanon.
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