Money exchange licence is revoked after laundering probe

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Money exchange licence is revoked after laundering probe A money exchange in the UAE has had its licence revoked for violating rules regarding money laundering. The Central Bank announced the action against Al Zarooni Exchange on Monday, saying its licence was revoked as of January 10. “The exchange house was prohibited permanently from conducting any activities relating to remittances, currency exchange and payment of wages,” a Central Bank statement said. The move comes two months after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Pakistan-based Altaf Khanani Money Laundering Organisation and Al Zarooni Exchange, which it said was a “owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of” the organisation. It said the organisation has ties with terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim and that it laundered money for criminals and extremists. “The Khanani Money Laundering Organisation exploits its relationships with financial institutions to funnel billions of dollars across the globe on behalf of terrorists, drug traffickers, and criminal organisations,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J Szubin said at the time. “This action hinders the Khanani Money Laundering Organization from gaining access to the international financial system to launder money for these illicit actors.” In the Central Bank statement, it said it suspended the activities of Al Zarooni Exchange as of November 10, 2015, and conducted and investigation into the allegations along with the competent authorities. “We will not tolerate violations of financial institutions to our regulations and instructions. We are alerting not to deal with this exchange house,” the statement said. It was not immediately clear whether Al Zarooni Exchange could appeal against the decision. 7DAYS tried to contact the firm’s head office in the Naif area of Deira on Monday, however the calls were not answered. ali.shouk@7days.ae Read the original story at: Money exchange licence is revoked after laundering probe