RIYADH, 31 January — The first Asian regional conference on money laundering concluded here yesterday with a series of recommendations that included, among other things, a call for the establishment of an independent intelligence unit to combat financial crime.
The participants of the seminar recommended that Islamic and other charity operations in the Middle East must be strictly monitored and regulated to prevent their funds from reaching illegal organizations.
"I am sure of the good intentions of the charity societies, but they must act on clear foundation and legislation to prevent misuse of their funds," said Saud Al-Mahmood, assistant director of Interpol in the Middle East and North Africa.
"Supervision and monitoring on the societies must be stricter," Mahmood said at the conclusion of the three-day conference aimed at promoting cooperation between law enforcement and financial authorities.
"It’s time to work out rules to ensure that funds are not being smuggled to individuals and societies involved in terrorist operations," added Mahmood.
The conference called for establishing a data network to link authorities in Asian countries to publicize those involved in money laundering and financial crimes.
It also called for seeking the assistance of central banks while investigating financial crimes.
Although the conference had been scheduled before the Sept. 11 attacks, the events have overshadowed its sessions, focusing attention on combating terrorism funding and preventing misuse of international financial systems.
Mahmood said the conference also discussed the issue of funds raised by charity organizations and ways to stop them being diverted.
"We are certain that people who pay charity and workers who collect the funds are honest and dedicated people," Mahmood said.
"But we have cases where some of the funds had reached undesired parties. A number of cases are under investigation now," he said.
Charity organizations in the Kingdom and other Gulf states have strongly denied they have been funding illegitimate operations and parties linked to international terrorism.
The United States has accused some Gulf-based charity organizations of channeling donations to fund terrorism and has called for curbs on their operations.
Mahmood said on Monday: "There are visits and inspections by American authorities to the Middle East. All America is interested in is that the funds do not go to unknown recipients, or are used in funding terrorism."
Gulf Arab countries are "coordinating well" with the United States and Europe on this issue, he said, adding that Interpol has been asked to monitor some people in the region but not their financial affairs.
The conference recommended that the member countries of the UN should sign new international treaties and the UN agreements, including the extradition of criminals from a signatory country for committing an economic crime.
The conference said fraud normally occurs at the workplace, and so it was important to include standards for work morality in rules that govern companies in the public and private sectors. "In fact, the element of morality should be incorporated into the institution’s work culture," it said.
The concluding session was attended by Brig. Gen. Ali Al-Obaishi, director of Interpol, Riyadh, Sulaiman Al-Said, banking examiner of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, and Marie-Christine Dupuis of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UN-ODCCP).
