Released on = December 16, 2006, 5:13 pm

Press Release Author = Hany Abou-El-Fotouh, Oman Int\'l Bank

Industry = Financial

Press Release Summary = OIB Assistant General Manager and Head of Compliance, Mr.
Hany Abou-El-Fotouh has ‎recently joined 2-days meeting held at the
headquarter of Association of Certified Anti-‎Money Laundering Specialists
(ACAMS) in Miami, Florida.‎

Press Release Body = ACAMS has invited Mr. Abou-El-Fotouh to represent the Middle
East in Certification ‎Exam Review Task Force along with other representations
from the US, Latin America ‎and Europe. The Task Force aims to make progress
in the development of anti-money ‎laundering (AML) certification recognized
globally. The work of the Task Force has ‎involved leading subject-matter
experts in consultation with independent psychometrics ‎experts to ensure fair
and sound examination questions.‎
Speaking on the significance of certification in AML compliance, Mr. Abou-El-Fotouh
‎remarked "just few years ago many anti-money laundering positions did not
even exist. ‎Where they did, the compliance officers found themselves assigned
AML compliance ‎duties after being given vague instructions. Little training
was available. More ‎importantly, there were no real standards for this
specialty". He added "money laundering ‎and terrorist financing have taken
centre stage, and as a result, regulations around the ‎world have increased
significantly. Essentially, these conditions have created a new ‎profession to
fill the demands of all kinds of financial institutions. Not anyone can fill
‎this demand: financial institutions require a specific skill set and range of
experience".‎
He further said \"ACAMS has more than 4,300 members in over 100 countries and has
‎certified more than 2,000 professionals already recognized as the highest
standard for the ‎professional in the money-laundering prevention
field.\"‎
Speaking on OIB's compliance function, Mr. Abou-El-Fotouh remarked \"The Bank's
‎compliance function has developed processes and procedures across the
business to ‎ensure that customers are properly identified, suspicious
transactions are reported, ‎adequate records are maintained and employees are
trained in respect of anti-money ‎laundering compliance. In tandem with
management of governance issues, the ‎compliance function ensures compliance
not only with regulatory laws and standards, but ‎also with internal policies
and procedures.\" He further explained \"the compliance ‎function is an
essential part of OIB's control structure, having responsibility for the
‎management of regulatory and reputational risk. A comprehensive bank-wide
compliance ‎framework has been developed.\" ‎
Mr. Abou-El-Fotouh concluded by saying \"compliance is central in building trust with
‎our customers knowing that customers do not only place their money with the
bank, they ‎also place their trust in what financial products and services we
sell and how we sell ‎them.\"‎









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