Dr. Ali bin Fattis Al Marri, Attorney-General, issued an order yesterday to arrest a number of people suspected of carrying out money laundering operations in Qatar.
In an effort to tackle money laundering in the country, Al Marri issued an arrest order for a number of suspects on Wednesday and immediately launched an investigation.
The order comes after authorities reported the presence of dubious movement of large funds in the country that were suspected to be money laundering attempts – a crime punishable by law in Qatar.
Authorities fell short of providing further details of the case.
Last year, Qatar issued a new law to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The new ruling reformed and updated Qatar’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulatory framework, bringing it in line with the highest global standards including those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Read more: Qatari financial firm banned from conducting new business.
The move requires all financial institutions and DNFBPs to adopt a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing risks and to ensure clean and legal business.
This has been proven effective.
In the past few months, Qatari authorities have cracked down on criminal activities, including money laundering, drugs, illegal businesses and financial activity.
Just last month, Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) penalised a financial firm in Qatar and banned it from acquiring new customers, state media reported.
In August, the regulatory authority imposed a $50,000 fine on David Russell, former CEO of Guardian Wealth Management Qatar LLC (GWMQ) and prohibited him from carrying further business for three years.
Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
