News
Customer Identification in Middle East Is a Tough Compliance Balancing Act
By Brian Monroe
printA banking compliance officer who worked at a branch far from the capital city of one Middle East nation told consultant Hussam A. Al-Abed about a frightening encounter he had with a rich and powerful tribal sheik. The compliance officer was helping the sheik open an account and asked the sheik for proof of identification, recalls Al-Abed. So the sheik reached into his robe, pulled out a gun and placed it on the table. "Here," the man said, "is my identity information." Al-Abed, the general manager of Amman, Jordan-based Risk Management Consultants, remembers another bank compliance officer who was thrown...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
In the first trial of its kind, a federal court said Monday that Arab Bank is liable for deaths caused by Hamas and a Saudi charity that used its accounts to reward terrorism.
A decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirming sanctions against Jordan's largest bank for not turning over data on suspicious accounts could leave some financial institutions with an unwanted choice, say attorneys.
A ruling by a U.S. District Court dismissing a case against a Jordanian bank accused of supporting Hamas won't likely resolve whether banks are liable for the terrorist actions of clients they no longer serve.
A U.S. District Court judge's decision this week to allow a jury to assume that a Jordanian bank knowingly processed transactions funding suicide bombings could galvanize separate lawsuits targeting banks.
Officials are concerned that Iran may have "sleeper cell" agents in the Arabian Peninsula conducting financial transactions and preparing potential retaliatory action for the Persian country, according to a professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
A federal court's dismissal of a two-year old lawsuit against five Lebanese banks for allegedly providing financial services to Hizbollah could impact lawsuits against other banks facing similar cases.
Marc Hambach, an assistant director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and head of its AML department, spoke with reporter Brian Orsak about the process of developing regulations for one of the fast growing financial hubs in the world.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said June 20 that U.S. companies can do business with the Palestinian Authority government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party. The U.S. had restricted certain financial transactions.
Families of suicide bombing victims say a U.S. judge's decision allowing a class-action lawsuit against a Middle Eastern bank sends a clear message that financial institutions can be held accountable for terrorist acts committed on foreign soil.