ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Adel Sharkas has reaffirmed the Kingdom's commitment to combating terrorist financing, which he called a threat to national economies.

Opening a forum on compliance with international standards of anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in Amman on Monday, Sharkas said that the Central Bank continues to issue directives and guidelines for AML/CFT and hold capacity-building courses in this field.

Sharkas urged participants in the forum, held by the Union of Arab Banks in conjunction with the Association of Banks in Jordan, to develop ideas and initiatives that would help lower the risks associated with financial crimes and improve adherence to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The CBJ Governor indicated that the National AML/CFT Committee reviewed and amended AML/CFT legislation to comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, resulting in a new AML/CF Law as well as a new Companies Law that addresses shortcomings in the "actual beneficiary" side of financial operations.

He noted that technological advancements over the last two decades have brought many new risks and challenges as financial crimes have become more sophisticated, emphasizing that keeping up with this evolution has become an urgent need for supervisory and regulatory bodies.

In addition, the Central Bank Governor emphasized that more stringent customer screening must not result in excessive risk management policies that undermine financial inclusion efforts and force some customers to conduct financial transactions outside of the formal financial system.