Qatar's measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing

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English

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FATF-MENAFATF Mutual Evaluation Qatar - 2023

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Mutual-Evaluation-Qatar-2023.pdf
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Paris, 31 May 2023 - Qatar has made substantive improvements to its system to combat money laundering and terrorism financing and its technical compliance with FATF requirements is very strong. However, Qatar needs to make some major improvements, in its criminal justice response to terrorist financing.

Qatar is a small but wealthy country with a workforce that is primarily expatriate. The country has low domestic crime rates, but is nevertheless exposed to money laundering risks from smuggling, fraud, drug crimes and corruption. Qatar faces a notable terrorist financing risk with its citizens targeted for fundraising at home and abroad. 

The FATF-MENAFATF mutual evaluation of Qatar highlights that the country has a good understanding of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks it faces but it needs to improve understanding of more complex forms of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Qatar has implemented a risk-based approach to the assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks and the supervision of the financial sector. Risk-based supervision of the non-financial sector is improving, but at an early stage.

Qatar has made positive and sustained progress in collecting beneficial ownership information for its unified register which is close to completion. However, there are still not sufficient controls to ensure that the information collected remains accurate and up-to-date.

Qatar’s financial intelligence unit is well-equipped and accesses and analyses a wide range of information. However, Qatar’s sophisticated analysis capabilities are not used to their fullest extent to identify money laundering and terrorist financing.

Money laundering investigations and prosecutions remain low and authorities should continue improving their investigations to identify the role Qatar may play in complex or professional schemes.

Qatar has only secured a small number of terrorist financing convictions and prosecutions. There are major inconsistencies between Qatar’s risk profile and the type and extent of terrorist financing activity prosecuted and convicted.

Qatar is effectively confiscating large sums, including proceeds and instrumentalities of crime, and property of equivalent value. Qatar prioritises international co-operation but further progress is necessary to improve Qatar’s overall system for mutual legal assistance and extradition.

Qatar has a robust framework to implement targeted financial sanctions related to terrorist financing and used this to seize a large amount of assets, but the country needs to focus more on its implementation of proliferation financing sanctions.

Executive Summary MER Qatar-2023

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Ratings

Effectiveness

Ratings that reflect the extent to which a country's measures are effective. The assessment is conducted on the basis of 11 immediate outcomes, which represent key goals that an effective AML/CFT system should achieve.

Ratings that reflect the extent to which a country's measures are effective. The assessment is conducted on the basis of 11 immediate outcomes, which represent key goals that an effective AML/CFT system should achieve.

Qatar Mutual Evaluation 2023

IO1
SE
IO2
ME
IO3
SE
IO4
ME
IO5
ME
IO6
ME
IO7
ME
IO8
SE
IO9
LE
IO10
SE
IO11
ME

HE = high level of effectiveness   |   SE = substantial level of effectiveness    |   ME = moderate level of effectiveness   |   LE = low level of effectiveness

Technical Compliance

Ratings which reflect the extent to which a country has implemented the technical requirements of the FATF Recommendations.

Qatar Mutual Evaluation 2023

R.1 - Assessing risk & applying risk-based approach
LC
R.2 - National cooperation and coordination
C
R.3 - Money laundering offence
C
R.4 - Confiscation and provisional measures
C
R.5 - Terrorist financing offence
C
R.6 - Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism & terrorist financing
LC
R.7 - Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation
LC
R.8 - Non-profit organisations
LC
R.9 - Financial institution secrecy laws
C
R.10 - Customer due diligence
C
R.11 - Record keeping
C
R.12 - Politically exposed persons
C
R.13 - Correspondent banking
C
R.14 - Money or value transfer services
C
R.15 - New technologies
LC
R.16 - Wire transfers
LC
R.17 - Reliance on third parties
C
R.18 - Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries
C
R.19 - Higher-risk countries
C
R.20 - Reporting of suspicious transactions
C
R.21 - Tipping-off and confidentiality
C
R.22 - DNFBPs: Customer due diligence
C
R.23 - DNFBPs: Other measures
C
R.24 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons
LC
R.25 - Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements
LC
R.26 - Regulation and supervision of financial institutions
C
R.27 - Powers of supervisors
C
R.28 - Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs
C
R.29 - Financial intelligence units
C
R.30 - Responsibilities of law enforcement and investigative authorities
C
R.31 - Powers of law enforcement and investigative authorities
C
R.32 - Cash couriers
C
R.33 - Statistics
C
R.34 - Guidance and feedback
C
R.35- Sanctions
C
R.36 - International instruments
C
R.37 - Mutual legal assistance
C
R.38 - Mutual legal assistance: freezing and confiscation
C
R.39 - Extradition
C
R.40 - Other forms of international cooperation
C

C = compliant   |   LC = largely compliant     |   PC = partially compliant   |   NC = non-compliant

Related materials

The FATF Recommendations

The FATF Recommendations are the basis on which all countries should meet the shared objective of tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation. The FATF calls upon all countries to effectively implement these measures in their national systems.

Mutual Evaluations

The FATF conducts peer reviews of each member on an ongoing basis to assess levels of implementation of the FATF Recommendations, providing an in-depth description and analysis of each country’s system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system
ESAAMLG Logo

FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems

The FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems sets out the evaluation process.

Translated documents

Arabic Mutual Evaluation Qatar-2023

Arabic Translation of Mutual Evaluation of Qatar, provided by MENAFATF

Filename
Arabic-Mutual-Evaluation-Qatar-2023.pdf
Size
4 MB
Format
application/pdf
Download

Related materials

The FATF Recommendations

The FATF Recommendations are the basis on which all countries should meet the shared objective of tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation. The FATF calls upon all countries to effectively implement these measures in their national systems.

Mutual Evaluations

The FATF conducts peer reviews of each member on an ongoing basis to assess levels of implementation of the FATF Recommendations, providing an in-depth description and analysis of each country’s system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system
ESAAMLG Logo

FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems

The FATF Methodology for assessing compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT systems sets out the evaluation process.