ALERT:  KYC/AML Compliance for Professional Services Firms in the UAE
Channel: Konsälidön
Date: 2021-04-08

Why KYC? In this session, the experts discuss KYC/ AML obligations, compliance deadlines and low cost tools for KYC checks.

As a professional services firm, are you unknowingly committing a criminal offence?

Under the laws of the UAE, failure to report suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing is a criminal offence.

Unsurprisingly, on 3 March 2021, the UAE issued a circular reminding all law firms, accounting firms, real estate brokers, company service providers, and dealers of precious metals to register with the goAML platform introduced by the government by 31 March 2021.

Not just that, in October 2020, 200 law firms in the UAE were suspended for failing to comply with KYC/ AML procedures.

This underscores the importance for professional services firms to comply with the KYC/ AML regulation, particularly the Federal Decree No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.

Failure to comply with these laws could attract penalties ranging from AED 50,000 to AED 500,000.

In addition, a perception that the firms' clients are engaged in unethical behaviour will make quality clients shun any association with the firm. This will create a chain of events that will hamper growth and drive potential clients to competitors.

Regulatory fines, embezzlement, and other malfeasance can be prevented by low-cost KYC checks to identify potential warning signs.

In this session, we discuss:
- What does KYC entail?
- Strategies to avoid fraud and financial crime risk
- Early warning signals and red flags
- Tools for conducting KYC checks

About the Speakers:

Deepak Bhawnani, Founder & CEO at Alea Consulting - Pioneer & Industry Veteran committed to educating, advising and supporting corporations with Risk Mitigation consulting.

Deepak established Alea Consulting in 2003 as one of the first private global Risk Mitigation consulting firm in the region, after spending almost 16 years at a US organization. In a career spanning over 33 years, Deepak has conducted numerous high-profile assignments & investigations, building a reputation as an industry advocate and thought leader.

He is recognized for his expertise in directing FCPA/fraud investigation assignments, international asset discovery, litigation support and crisis management consulting.

He is a member of ASIS, ACFE, BBG, ICBC and is a speaker to financial institutions in exclusive Asia-based seminars.

Priyasha Corrie is a co-founder and partner at Könnected Law, a NewLaw firm based in the UAE, which connects organisations with appropriate legal teams.

She has over 10 years of experience in the MENA and India region in the areas of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures, corporate restructuring, commercial, and general corporate advisory.

About the Organizers:

Könnected Law is a NewLaw firm powered by a digital platform. Through our platform, we operate an agile, decentralized and distributed global law firm with very low overheads – which means that our clients see only senior lawyers and lower charge-out rates.

Alea Consulting is a global risk mitigation and investigative consulting firm, which helps organizations reduce reputation and operational concerns.

Established in 2003, the firm has directed over 1000 assignments for corporations, listed companies, private equity firms, banks, strategic advisory institutions, international finance entities, hedge funds and sovereign funds.

Alea Consulting works confidentially with global clients to provide corporate intelligence that enables them to make informed decisions.

This event was organized by Alea Consulting in collaboration with Konsälidön as a part of the Könnected Insights Web Summit in March 2021.