Risk Ready Middle East
Discover how LexisNexis® Risk Solutions is leading the fight against fraud and financial crime in the Middle East.
Tackling Fraud and Financial Crime Across the Middle East
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions' Risk Ready events are addressing financial crime and compliance challenges in the Middle East, featuring expert discussions and industry collaboration to enhance fraud prevention and regulatory adherence.
Expanding the Risk Ready Initiative
Since its launch nine months ago, the Risk Ready events roadshow has been making significant strides across the GCC and Middle East. This initiative focuses on the financial crime, compliance, and fraud challenges faced by financial institutions and corporations in the region.Kickoff in Dubai
The Risk Ready Middle East series began on 22 November 2023 at the SkyView Hotel in Dubai, targeting the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) sector.Leading law firm BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP (BSA) and award-winning real estate agency D&B Properties joined FTI Consulting to discuss how DNFBPs in the Middle East can adopt a risk-based approach to compliance and fraud. Key topics included FATF Guidance, Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Anti Money Laundering (AML), and understanding fraudulent activities in transactional journeys.
Daniel Hewitt, Regional Head, Middle East at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, reflected on the event:
"Today's event was excellent with a great turnout from the DNFBPs. We heard many interesting topics covered, and I left today learning a few things myself. I learned one entity imposes fines actually on their sales office if they don’t carry out the appropriate KYC checks because it does have an impact.”
Banking Sector Engagement
On 5 March 2024, the series continued at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai, attended by ten of the largest banks in the region. The event featured over twenty speakers from leading banks, including Emirates NBD, The Commercial Bank of Qatar, and Mashreq.A key highlight was the participation of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing, which showcased the UAE’s progress after two years of efforts to address vulnerabilities in combating financial crime, resulting in its removal from the FATF grey list.
Luay Al Nazer, Head of Compliance Technology Platforms at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, commented:
"It was a great event, having been able to meet all the colleagues in this domain that we’re working in, compliance, compliance technology, having to exchange our experiences and to hear from our colleagues in this area on what challenges they might be facing, and getting to know that our technology partner LexisNexis Risk Solutions is helping out.”
Expanding to Bahrain
Recognizing that challenges in the UAE extend beyond its borders, LexisNexis Risk Solutions expanded the series into Bahrain in Q2 of 2024. Bahrain is experiencing a rise in scams, particularly social engineering and phishing attacks.The Risk Ready Bahrain event on 6 May 2024 brought together experts from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, BENEFIT, The Central Bank of Bahrain, and Bahrain Airport Service to discuss the kingdom’s fraudulent threats. Discussions focused on the impact of scams, identifying good profiles from bad, and the importance of cross-vertical data sharing to enhance Bahrain’s position as a regional financial hub in line with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.
The Road Ahead
As financial crime and fraudulent activities become increasingly complex, the economic and social harm continues to grow. The Risk Ready series in the Middle East is just beginning. The question is, are you ready?To stay updated on all upcoming events in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, visit and bookmark our events page.
