Released on = December 24, 2006, 6:39 am

Press Release Author = Midde East Compliance Officers Forum (MECOF)

Industry = Government

Press Release Summary = Oman International Bank (OIB) Assistant General Manager and
Head of Compliance, ‎Mr. Hany Abou-El-Fotouh has delivered a presentation at
\"The Second U.S.- Middle ‎East & North Africa Private Sector Dialogue (US-MENA
PSD) Conference on Anti-‎Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing
(AML/CFT)\" held December 11-13 ‎in New York City hosted by The Federal Reserve
Bank.‎

Press Release Body = The conference is a direct dialogue between the banking sectors
in the U.S. and ‎MENA region with the objective to raise awareness of
terrorist financing and ‎money laundering risks, facilitate a better
understanding of effective practices ‎and programs to combat such risks, and
strengthen implementation of effective ‎anti-money
laundering/counter-terrorist financing controls.
‎
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has hosted this conference in coordination
‎with the Union of Arab Banks, the Middle East/North Africa Financial Action
Task ‎Force (MENA-FATF), and with the support of the American Bankers
Association, the ‎Arab Bankers Association of North America, and the U.S.
Department of the ‎Treasury.
‎
The event invited a diversified mix of speakers including central bank governors
‎and vice governors, senior policy makers and regulators, in addition to
several ‎chairmen of Arab banks and senior American officials. The
participants provided ‎insights into the latest developments related to
AML/CFT issues.
‎
Speaking on OIB\'s presence at the conference, Abou-El-Fotouh remarked, \'The
‎invitation to take part in this important conference signifies the stand of
OIB ‎as a leading bank in Oman. By way of example, I had the chance to
illustrate how ‎the Bank protects itself from being exploited by criminals to
carry out ‎suspicious activities.\'
‎
He further added, \'I am also happy that representation from the banking sector
‎in the region was remarkable. We have focused on progress and challenges in
the ‎institutional development and implementation of AML/CFT controls in the
U.S. and ‎MENA banking sectors.\'
‎
Abou-El-Fotouh further noted, \'the format for these sessions was largely
‎roundtable discussions which proved very efficient for building effective
‎dialogue with our counterparts from the U.S.\'
‎
He concluded by saying, \'Despite the global effort and progress achieved to
‎deter money laundering, there is a considerable amount of work still to be
done ‎in this area.\'‎


Web Site = http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_east_compliance/‎

Contact Details = Contact Person: H Hassan
Company Name: OIB
Telephone Number: 968-99310611‎
Fax Number: 968-24682514‎
Email Address: oibcpl62@omantel.net.om