May.10, 2010, 19:11 PM

ABU DHABI, May 10 (Bernama) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed new anti-money laundering agreements with five Arab countries, a local business daily reported Monday.

Mohamed al-Awadi, executive director and head of Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit at the UAE Central Bank, signed the memoranda of understanding with Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Sudan, Emirates Business 24/7 said, citing a central bank statement.

The deals were inked on the sidelines of a recent meeting of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force ( MENAFATF) in Tunisia, Emirates news agency (WAM) cited the statement as saying.

"The agreements demonstrate the commitment of the UAE to enhance cooperation with its global and regional partners to coordinate the efforts against money laundering, terrorist financing and related crimes," it said.

According to Emirates Business 24/7, the UAE has already finalised such deals with 36 nations and organisations as part of its plan to conclude deals with at least 90 nations on cooperation to fight dirty money.

The Gulf nation is among the first countries in the region to enact anti-laundering laws and publicly report such cases.

A total of 1,729 suspected money laundering cases were uncovered in the UAE last year, while the central bank received more than 11,800 reports on cash declaration, bank data showed.

MENAFATF, headquartered in Bahrain, was established in November 2004 with the aim of building effective arrangements throughout the region to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.