Financial firms in the United Arab Emirates have reported a 25 percent increase in “suspicious” transactions in the first five months of this year as the Gulf state steps up vigilance against money laundering, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday.
At least 1221 suspicious transactions were reported as of the end May compared to 978 transactions reported during the same period last year, fi gures provided by the central bank showed.
In 2011, suspicious transactions reported totaled 2576 compared to 2781 in 2010, t he central bank figures showed.
“If such transactions have increased, it means that there is more awareness, more understanding and more training and that is the main objective of our anti-money laundering efforts,” Abdulrahim Mohamed al Awadi, executive director and head of the anti-money laundering unit told reporters.
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