Speech
of
Dr. Joseph Torbey
Chairman – World Union of Arab Bankers
Chairman of the Executive Committee – Union of Arab Banks
Chairman General Manager – Credit Libanais Group
Opening Session
Conference on
“Fighting Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism”
27 – 28 April, 2011
Beirut, Lebanon
In the presence of HE Mr. Mohamad Safadi, Minister of Economy and Trade, HE Mr. Riad Salameh Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, as well as prominent bankers, economists and press representatives attending the Union of Arab Banks Conference titled: Fighting Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Dr. Joseph Torbey, Chairman of the Union of Arab Bankers, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Union of Arab Banks, and Chairman General Manager of Credit Libanais Group said during the opening ceremony:
« I am pleased to inaugurate this Conference with you in Beirut, the city which we always want calm and stable so that it continues to play its historical role as a meeting place to discuss common Arab issues.
Torbey also thanked all parties who contributed to the success of this Conference, namely the Central Bank of Lebanon, the Union of Arab Bankers, the Union of Arab Banks, the Special Investigation Commission entrusted with Fighting Money Laundering in Lebanon, and the US Treasury.
Torbey stressed that the subject of fighting money laundering and terrorist financing is a critical and sensitive issue that preoccupies banks managements, due to the repercussions this issue has on banks safety and their corporate social and human responsibilities in protecting the communities, safeguarding their customers’ reputation and deposits and keeping dirty money away from banks, so that the latter remain the haven of clean money and legitimate earnings.
As to the timing of this Conference and the issue of Money Laundering amidst the events that are shaking the Arab world today, Torbey announced that this issue has taken international scope during the past years, with the widespread of the money laundering phenomenon as a result of globalization, free markets, interconnection of world economies and the easiness of money transfers.
Torbey added that corruption appeared in the trade world and took many forms ranging from bribery, to embezzlement, drug dealing, money laundering, etc. Moreover, the sources and utilizations of illicit funds took wider scopes to encompass all crimes that are legally punished, and those are killing, terrorism, tax evasion, misuse of power, spying, trading expired and banned goods, falsification of money bills, documents, trademarks and other illicit activities that usually take place in an unlawful manner. Such activities are known as the shadow economy or the black economy, and they all have a common denominator, which is earning criminal money and seeking to hide their illicit sources, and to introduce them to the banking system thereby giving them a legal and lawful attribute.
Torbey added that banks today are alert more than ever because they are considered as one of the “battle fields” against money laundering, and this fact entails a special care by finding the systems and procedures that can help in the international war against this crime and the funds that feed it. Banks are requested to proceed with ultimate care and to cooperate in matters of blacklists they receive from international bodies concerning suspicious accounts.
Torbey stressed that the phenomenon of money laundering sheds its negative repercussions on institutions and governments worldwide. Funds laundered are estimated at 8% of the volume of international trade, nearing 3 trillions of US Dollars per year. As such, the industry of money laundering comes in the third position after currencies trading and cars manufacturing. The development of money laundering activities and financing of terrorism called for cooperation of global efforts to fight it. Year after year, these bodies developed their methodologies and means of work, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Le Groupe d'action financière sur le blanchiment de capitaux (GAFI) in French, which generated international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and forced countries to adopt it, otherwise, these non-compliant countries are put on the black list as being non-cooperative, with all the bad reputation such a matter could generate upon a country and its financial and economic systems, as well as any potential sanctions.
Torbey also said that the general interest calls for the protection of the Arab banking system against illicit activities, by means of more in depth analysis of risks, putting in place tougher supervisory policies, and enhancing cooperation between financial institutions and the government. The economy of crime cannot be adopted as an alternative and even less as a synonym of the true and legal economy, to establish any internal or regional growth for the Arab region – economically speaking and from a banking sector perspective.
We all agree, Torbey added, that our efforts to attract local and foreign investments to the Arab countries should be coupled with precautions against the infiltration of dirty money to the Arab banks and economies, due the huge damages to the reputation of the Arab region and its prosperity these laundered funds can cause. Arab countries did well during the past years by strengthening their financial systems with laws and regulations that shield their banking institutions against money laundering activities taking place worldwide.
Torbey concluded by highlighting the major objectives of the WUAB, which are the establishment and development of cooperation with Arab and international bodies concerned with the banking profession, corporate governance, fighting money laundering and financing of terrorism, and the commitment of the Arab banking profession to the international standards and codes of ethics.
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