Dec.26, 2009

The Studies and Economic Center urged on Saturday Parliament to quickly pass the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing legislation that was sent to it in November 2007.

In a letter to Speaker of Parliament, the center said the legislation delay will expose Yemen to punishable measures and a sever rebuke, after it was given a deadline by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force until April 2010 to approve it.

The delay may also have effects on the national economy, triggering a decline in grants, in addition to losing the trust in the financial sector and then further chains would imposed on it, the center said.

The letter also urged to activate the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Unit at the Yemeni Central Bank and other banks and exchange firms as well as continuous training for employees at the unit to introduce them to the newest approaches to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

A report by the task force earlier noted that Yemen had not met its commitment towards combating money laundering and terrorist financing, pointing to the partly action in this regard amid the inactive Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Unit at the YCB.

For its part, the center said the law 35-2003 was vague and short of tackling all developed financial crimes in the globalization time. The law did not also contain criminalizing terrorist financing, it added.

Meanwhile, Yemen has only revealed 11 suspected money laundering cases, one of which was turned over to the judiciary, according to information obtained by the center.

It is worth to mention that Yemen is one of the founding states of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force and is in charge of evaluating the commitment of countries towards fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.