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Top Arab Banker Speaks at World's Premier Money Launder...

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Author : hanyfotouh

Published: March 24, 2008, 1:11 pm

Hany Abou-El-Fotouh, First Vice President and Group Head of Corporate Governance and Compliance at

ABC Bank Egypt has participated at three panels among prominent panelists from leading world financial

institutions and regulatory authorities. He describes the conference as "an opportunity to offer guidance from

Anti Money Laundering (AML) experts offering strategies and solutions particularly how to survive in this

demanding regulatory environment"Abou-el-Fotouh has tackled major misconceptions about Islamic finance and banking, preparation of AML

independent testing and regulatory examinations as well as best practices about tailoring AML training

program .The panels have been highly interactive.About the size of Islamic finance Abou-El-Fotouh said "Islamic finance is rapidly growing. It is estimated at

USD 700 bn globally and expected to be USD 1.4 trillion. There are more than 300 Islamic financial

institutions and Islamic windows operating globally. The major principles of Islamic finance are prohibition of

all kind of interest, no financing of sinful and socially irresponsible activities as well and dealings are on

contractual basis"He clarified several common misconceptions about Islamic banking and finance. "The major myth about

Islamic banking is that it is about a cluster of hard line religious believers and about religion only. The reality

is nearly 60% of Islamic banks' customers are non-Muslims who mostly believe that Islamic finance is an

alternative way of doing business and making money through wealth creation and distribution" Said

Abou-El-Fotouh.

He further added "another misconception describes Islamic banks as being regulated only by Sharia (Islamiclaw). The reality is Islamic banks draw their founding blocks from Sharia and they operate fully under the `law

of land' where they exist"

"Anti-money-laundering training is an integral component of compliance program", said Abou-El-Fotouh.

"The training program must be tailored to all professional staff relevant to the work they do. Board members

and senior management should understand AML regulatory requirements, ramifications of noncompliance,

and the risks posed to the financial institution. The training should be conducted annually."

Speaking on the requirements of independent audit testing of AML compliance program, Abou-El-Fotouh said

"The regulations require an independent review, not a formal audit by a certified public accountant or

third-party consultant. The institution does not necessarily need to hire an outside auditor or consultant. The

review may be conducted by an officer, employee or group of employees, so long as the reviewer is not the

designated compliance officer and does not report directly to the compliance officer. Frequency and scope

depend on the financial institution's risk assessment."He further explained that regulators assess an internal audit's thoroughness and findings, as well as how

effectively it tracks management's corrective action to determine whether they, the examiners, can rely upon

the audit department's results to better scope their work.Abou-El-Fotouh concluded by saying "there is much to be done to fight money laundering. It is a financial

crime that damages financial institutions, impacts economic growth, reduces productivity, and distorts the

economy's trade and capital flows. It takes away funds that could be used to alleviate health and social

problems".About the authorFirst vice president and group head of corporate governance and compliance, ABC Bank, Egypt, he is a

leading expert on money laundering and terrorist financing controls in the Middle East-North Africa regionwith extensive experience in AML compliance and training. Founder of the Middle East Compliance Officers'

Forum, he has been honored for his work in promoting compliance awareness in Egypt and the MENA region.

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8/3/2019 Hany Abou El Fotouh_press Quote (13)

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Previously, he held top compliance positions in multinational institutions, such as HSBC Bank Egypt, Banque

Saudi Fransi, and Oman International Bank.

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