In the context of the mutual evaluation process of the Kingdom of Morocco’s compliance with the international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation issued by the FATF in 2012 and according to - MENAFATF Procedures for the second round of Mutual Evaluations and Follow-up Process, the MENAFATF Secretariat hosted the face to face meeting which was held between the Kingdom of Morocco and the assessment team, in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain, for two consecutive days, from 19 to 20 September 2018.
This meeting aimed at discussing and approving the issues which were not agreed upon in the draft Mutual Evaluation Report and the Executive Summary (over technical compliance or effectiveness issues), as well as identifying the important issues that should be covered by the plenary discussions which is scheduled to be held from 24 to 29 November 2018.
The Kingdom of Morocco was represented by a delegation consisting of 23 members from various governmental authorities specialized in AML/CFT -, under the presidency of Dr. - Jawhar NFISSI, the head of the Moroccan FIU. The assessment team was represented by six members from six different Arab countries. In addition, the meeting was attended by Dr. Al-Waleed Al-Sheikh, the Executive Secretary of MENAFATF, Mr. Issam Eddin Ibrahim, the Co-Chair of the MENAFATF Mutual Evaluation Working Group -, the assistant executive director of the Egyptian AML/CFT Unit, as well as the competent staff at MENAFATF Secretariat.
During the meeting, the main comments which were set out in the second draft of the Mutual Evaluation Report on the Kingdom of Morocco’s compliance with the international standards on AML/CFT were deliberated and views exchanged. In addition, some pending issues were clarified, where the Kingdom presented its comments and the documents which support its opinions, provided that the assessment team shall consider making the necessary amendments to the draft report and the Executive Summary, based on the outcomes of the meeting with the representatives of the Kingdom.
At the end of this meeting, the Moroccan delegation extended its thanks and appreciation to the MENAFATF Secretariat for its support and organization of this meeting and to the assessment team for its dedicated efforts throughout the assessment process.