Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Ghada Waly praised the pioneering role of Saudi Arabia and the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in combating corruption and economic crimes at the regional and international levels. Addressing the first annual general meeting of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA-ARIN) in Jeddah on Wednesday, she said that Saudi Arabia's hosting of the permanent secretariat of the network confirms its global standing in this field.

Nazaha President Mazin Al-Kahmous chaired the opening session of the meeting. In his speech, the Nazaha chief emphasized that the launch of the MENA-ARIN represents a practical step towards building an advanced regional system that enhances the capabilities of countries in the region in combating corruption, money laundering, and recovering illicit assets.

Al-Kahmous said that the meeting focuses on the shared responsibility of countries in addressing the challenges associated with illicit assets resulting from corruption and organized crime. “The launch of the network represents the beginning of a practical regional cooperation system capable of making a tangible impact in combating illicit financial flows,” he said.

Al-Kahmous noted that MENA-ARIN's establishment was based on the decision of the 39th General Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (MENA FATF), held in Riyadh in 2024, which welcomed the Kingdom's hosting of the network's permanent secretariat and the organization of the founding meeting. He noted that the UAE and Qatar will host the network's meetings in 2026 and 2027.

In her speech, Waly revealed that the Arab region loses approximately $60 billion annually due to illicit financial flows, while the African continent loses approximately $28 billion. Global losses are estimated at between $800 billion and $2 trillion annually due to money laundering, according to UN and International Monetary Fund data.

While noting that countries recover less than one percent of these assets, she called for enhanced international cooperation and the development of technical capabilities to address cross-border economic crimes, especially in light of the use of technology to conceal illicit transactions. Wali explained that the MENA-ARIN network is the ninth of its kind globally and represents a regional platform facilitating informal cooperation between law enforcement agencies to monitor, freeze, and confiscate the proceeds of cross-border crime. She emphasized that it complements and is indispensable to formal judicial cooperation.

She emphasized that the new network will strengthen the region's position within the international cooperation system in the field of asset recovery and combating corruption, and support capacity-building efforts and the exchange of expertise, contributing to protecting integrity and the economy in the Middle East and North Africa.