Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak 15th MENAFATF Plenary Meeting Jeddah - Saudi Arabia 28-30/4/2012         In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful   In his speech at the opening of the 15th MENAFATF plenary meeting hosted by SAMA in the city of Jeddah, the Governor of SAMA and Chairman of the Permanent Money Laundering Committee, Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak, emphasized that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has since the early 90s addressed the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing by issuing regulations and instructions, establishing procedures to ensure financial activities control and early detection and prevention of economic crimes and punishment of the perpetrators. He added that the Kingdom spares no effort in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, strengthening the role and effectiveness of relevant authorities, keeping up with international developments, and raising the level and efficiency of the agencies working in the field. The Governor of SAMA paid tribute to the issuance of the Saudi Anti-Money Laundering Law after being updated in consistence with international requirements, taking into account the recommendations of the assessment team mentioned in the Assessment Report on the Kingdom. This all highlights the interest of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and its commitment in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The Governor highlighted the recent issuance of FATF update of the 40 Recommendations aimed at strengthening international efforts in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and supporting the detection and control systems and techniques. He stressed the importance of combined international and regional efforts with the national AML/CTF efforts. He added that the Kingdom is one of the countries that have contributed to and supported the establishment of the MENAFATF, and continues to support all efforts exerted regionally and internationally in this regard, particularly through permanent participation in working groups and activities that promote the international efforts to raise the level of compliance with the international requirements in government organs and financial and non-financial institutions. In conclusion, the Governor of SAMA, Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak, welcomed all the participating delegations and wished the meeting to be a success and to all participants a good stay in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  Speech of H.E. the Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency