To: All Licensed Banks, Investment, Finance and Leasing Companies and Money Exchange Companies

Subject: Enhancement of the Role of the Financial System in Combating Money Laundering

1. As you may be aware already, the drug problem and the related activity of laundering money obtained from illegal drug trafficking have reached alarming promotions worldwide. Many countries of the world are affected by these problems to a greater or lesser degree. At the international level, the seven major industrial nations and the President of the commission of the European communities appointed a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to probe into the problem and come up with recommendations to combat it.

2. In April 1990, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), referred to above, issued a report and a set of recommendations. CBO reviewed the recommendations and found that some of them could be implemented by the Sultanate’s financial institutions. Accordingly, CBO calls upon all the financial institutions operating within its jurisdiction to adopt the following measures to prevent the Sultanate’s banking system and the financial institutions being utilized for the purpose of money laundering.