The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) works with strong determination to prohibit and actively prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and deploys the highest operating standards and laws to ensure that all its activities are undertaken within the legal parameters.

We at the Ministry aim to maintain the highest standards to safeguard the interests of Bahrain. We have established an anti-money laundering department to ensure that we are well-equipped to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and any other related financial crime through continuous updates to our procedures, systems, technology, staff training and effective supervision.

Going forward with its mission, the Ministry supports all the major anti-money laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) recommendations and programs of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and United Nations. Bahrain is one of the members of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), which is a member of the FATF. Bahrain is also a member of the regional MENA-FATF.

Anti-Money Laundering Department
The Anti-Money Laundry Department can be reached by:
Telephone: (+973) 17111351-17111365-17111315-17111316
Email: aml_awareness@www.moic.gov.bh

AML/CFT LEGISLATION

• The Kingdom of Bahrain's primary legislation relevant to AML/CFT is:
  
  1. Decree Law No. 4 of 2001, with Respect to the Prevention and Prohibition of the Laundering of Money.
   

• The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism legislation relevant to AML/CFT is:
  
  Resolution No. (103) of 2021 on measures to ban and combat money laundering, terrorism financing and illegal transfer of funds across borders for licensees to sell and Commerce gold and jewellery, auditing accounts, freezing rules, lifting the freeze and prohibiting the dealing of persons or entities on terrorist lists
  
  
  
  CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES
  MOIC supervises the compliance of AML/CFT for all companies and establishments practicing any of the following sectors:
  •    Buying and selling jewelry
  •    Auditors and audit firms
  
   
  
  INTERNATIONAL AML/CFT STANDARDS
  In response to mounting concern over money laundering, the FATF on Money Laundering was established by the G7 Summit held in Paris in 1989. The FATF currently comprises 35-member jurisdictions and two regional organizations representing most major financial centers in all parts of the globe.
  
  The FATF has developed a series of recommendations that are recognized as the international standard for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
  
  
  
  International Sanction List
  It is a mandatory to all legal persons (CR Holders) to stop any dealings and ensure that there is no relationship regardless of its kind and nature with any individual or entity listed in the international and/ or domestic sanction lists.  It is also mandatory that all entities to educate their staff about this subject. Any suspicion related to these individuals or entities must be reported immediately or if there is any suspicion or any attempt in transaction Through Ministry's website (Sijilat) (click here for STR steps) with respect to CR holders in Jewelry  sector and  auditing firms or by filing an STR form  and sending it along with all required documents to the following email str@www.moic.gov.bh for all other business activities.
  
  
  it is also mandatory for all CR holders to follow consciously the updates on international and domestic sanction lists :  
  
  link to international sanction list:
  https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/un-sc-consolidated-list
  
   
  Domestic Sanction List:
  Click Here for Domestic Sanction List
  
  AML/CFT Committee
  The AML/CFT Policy Committee was established in 2001 and it includes representatives from different government ministries and agencies; MOIC is a member of this committee. The committee is responsible for formulating and coordinating the Government of Bahrain's policies and processes aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

  In 2007, the Committee created two sub-committees. The first, the UN sub-committee, was tasked with ensuring that the Kingdom of Bahrain fully complied with all UN-mandated action in the field of sanctions; it is the Kingdom of Bahrain's formal body for designating specific individuals and organizations suspected of involvement in financing terrorism. The second sub-committee is the legal sub-committee, which is tasked with drafting all AML/CFT related laws prior to them being forwarded to the Parliament for approval.
  
  
  
  Anti-Money Laundering National Risk Assessment (NRA)   
  Based on the first recommendation from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, which states that countries have to prepare a risk assessment report of money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) at a national level; the Kingdom of Bahrain conducted the preparation process of this report in collaboration with the World Bank based on the predetermined methodology by the World Bank, in association with an integrated team constituted from various government authorities and entities.
  
   
  The cabinet has adopted the Bahrain National Risk Assessment (NRA) which gives a hint on the level of AML/CFT risk of the regulated sectors
  
  
  Click here to view National Risk Assessment Summary