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FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6119
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 MANAMA 002003 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL, EB/ESC/TFS, NEA/ARP AND DS/IP/NEA 
JUSTICE FOR OIA AND AFMLS 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN AND OASIA 
ABU DHABI FOR TREAS/JBEAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTFN KCRM EFIN PTER SNAR BA CTR ECTRD REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: 2006-2007 INCSR SUBMISSION 
 
REF: STATE 157084 
 
------------ 
Introduction 
------------ 
 
¶1.  Bahrain has one of the most diversified economies in the 
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In contrast to most of its 
neighbors, oil accounted for only 11.1 percent of Bahrain's 
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005. Bahrain has promoted 
itself as an international financial center in the Gulf 
region. It hosts a mix of: 375 diverse financial 
institutions, including 187 banks, of which 51 are wholesale 
banks (formerly referred to as off-shore banks or OBUs); 39 
investment banks; and 25 commercial banks, of which 17 are 
foreign-owned. There are 31 representative offices of 
international banks. In addition there are 21 moneychangers 
and money brokers, and several other investment institutions, 
including 85 insurance companies. (Note: Because a given 
financial institution may be counted under multiple 
sub-categories, the sum total of sub-categories listed 
exceeds 375.) The vast network of Bahrain's banking system, 
along with its geographical location in the Middle East as a 
transit point along the Gulf and into Southwest Asia, may 
attract money laundering activities. It is thought that the 
greatest risk of money laundering stems from questionable 
foreign proceeds that transit Bahrain. 
 
------------------------- 
Anti-Money Laundering Law 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. In January 2001 , the Government of Bahrain (GOB) enacted 
an anti-money laundering law that criminalizes the laundering 
of proceeds derived from any predicate offense. The law 
stipulated punishment of up to seven years in prison, and a 
fine of up to one million Bahraini dinars ($2.65 million) for 
convicted launderers and those aiding or abetting them. If 
organized criminal affiliation, corruption, or disguise of 
the origin of proceeds is involved, the minimum penalty is a 
fine of at least 100,000 dinars (approximately $265,000) and 
a prison term of not less than five years. 
 
¶3. On August 12, 2006, Bahrain passed Law 54/2006, amending 
the anti-money laundering law.  Law 54 criminalizes the 
undeclared transfer of money across international borders for 
the purpose of money laundering or in support of terrorism. 
Anyone convicted under the law of collecting or contributing 
funds, or otherwise providing financial support to a group or 
persons who practice terrorist acts, whether inside or 
outside Bahrain, will be subject to imprisonment for a 
minimum of ten years in prison up to a maximum of a life 
sentence. The law also stipulates a fine of between $26,700 
and $1.34 million. Law 54 also codified a legal basis for a 
disclosure system for cash couriers, though supporting 
regulations must still be enacted. 
 
¶4. A controversial feature of the new law is a revised 
definition of terrorism that is based on the Organization of 
the Islamic Conference definition. Article (2) excludes from 
the definition of terrorism acts of struggle against invasion 
or foreign aggression, colonization, or foreign supremacy in 
the interest of freedom and the nation's liberty, according 
to the principles of international law. 
 
¶5. Under the original anti-money laundering law, the Bahrain 
Monetary Agency (BMA)), principal financial sector regulator 
and de-facto central bank, issued regulations requiring 
financial institutions to file suspicious transaction reports 
(STRs), to maintain records for a period of five years, and 
to provide ready access for law enforcement officials to 
account information. (Note: The BMA was transformed into the 
Central Bank of Bahrain in September 2006.) Immunity from 
criminal or civil action is given to those who report 
suspicious transactions. Even prior to the enactment of the 
new anti-money laundering law, financial institutions were 
obligated to report suspicious transactions greater than 
6,000 dinars (approximately $15,000) to the BMA. The current 
requirement for filing STRs stipulates no minimum thresholds 
and since 2005 the BMA has had a secure online website that 
banks and other financial institutions can use to file STRs. 
 
¶6. The law also provides for the formation of an interagency 
committee to oversee Bahrain's anti-money laundering regime. 
Accordingly, in June 2001, the Policy Committee for the 
Prohibition and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist 
Financing was established and assigned the responsibility for 
developing anti-money laundering policies and guidelines. The 
 
MANAMA 00002003  002 OF 005 
 
 
committee, which is under the chairmanship of the Central 
Bank Deputy Governor, includes members from the Central Bank; 
the Bahrain Stock Exchange; and the Ministries of Finance and 
National Economy, Interior, Justice, Commerce, Social 
Development, and Foreign Affairs. 
 
¶7. In addition, the law provides for the creation of the 
Anti-Money Laundering Unit (AMLU) as Bahrain's financial 
intelligence unit (FIU). The AMLU, which is housed in the 
Ministry of Interior, is empowered to receive reports of 
money laundering offenses; conduct investigations; implement 
procedures relating to international cooperation under the 
provisions of the law; and execute decisions, orders, and 
decrees issued by the competent courts in offenses related to 
money laundering. The AMLU became a member of the Egmont 
Group of FIUs in July 2003. 
 
¶8. The AMLU receives suspicious transaction reports (STRs) 
from banks and other financial institutions, investment 
houses, broker/dealers, moneychangers, insurance firms, real 
estate agents, gold dealers, financial intermediaries, and 
attorneys. Financial institutions must also file STRs with 
the Central Bank, which supervises these institutions. 
Non-financial institutions are required under a Ministry of 
Industry and Commerce (MOIC) directive to also file STRs with 
that ministry. The Central Bank analyzes the STRs, of which 
it receives copies, as part of its scrutiny of compliance by 
financial institutions with anti-money laundering and 
combating terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regulations, but it 
does not independently investigate the STRs (responsibility 
for investigation rests with the AMLU). The Central Bank may 
assist the AMLU with its investigations, where special 
banking expertise is required. 
 
¶9. The Central Bank of Bahrain is the regulator for other 
non-banking financial institutions including insurance 
companies, exchange houses, and capital markets. The Central 
Bank inspected four insurance companies in 2005 and had 
conducted six more inspections by November 2006. More 
insurance industry inspections are scheduled for 2007. 
Anti-money laundering regulations for investment firms and 
securities brokers were revised in April 2006. 
 
¶10. In November 2007, the MOIC published new anti-money 
laundering guidelines, which govern designated non-financial 
businesses and professions (DNFBPs). The MOIC has also 
announced an increased focus on enforcement, noting some 300 
visits to DNFBPs in 2005, including car dealers, jewelers, 
real estate agencies, etc. By November 2006, the MOIC had 
conducted an additional 274 enforcement follow-up visits. A 
total of 140 of these have been assigned an MOIC compliance 
officer as a result. The MOIC has also increased its 
inspection team staff from four to seven. 
 
¶11. The MOIC system of requiring dual STR reporting to both 
it and the AMLU mirrors the Central Bank's system. Good 
cooperation exists between MOIC, Central Bank, and AMLU, with 
all three agencies describing the double filing of STRs as a 
backup system. The AMLU and Central Bank's compliance staff 
analyze the STRs and work together on identifying weaknesses 
or criminal activity, but it is the AMLU that must conduct 
the actual investigation and forward cases of money 
laundering and terrorist financing to the Office of Public 
Prosecutor. From January through November 2006, the AMLU has 
received and investigated 118 STRs, 26 of which have been 
forwarded to the courts for prosecution. The GOB completed 
its first successful money laundering prosecution in May 
¶2006. The prosecutions resulted in the convictions of two 
ex-pat felons with sentences of one and three years and fines 
of $380 and $1900 respectively. 
 
¶12. Bahrain is moving ahead with plans to establish a special 
court to try financial crimes, and judges are undergoing 
special training to handle such crimes. Six Bahraini judges 
will join a group of twelve Jordanian judges on loan to the 
Ministry of Justice to serve on the court, which is expected 
to begin hearing cases in May 2007. 
 
--------------------- 
Offshore Institutions 
--------------------- 
 
¶13. There are 51 Central Bank-licensed wholesale Banks 
(formerly referred to as offshore banking units (OBUs)) that 
are branches of international commercial banks. The license 
that changed OBUs to wholesale banks allows wholesale banks 
to accept deposits from citizens and residents of Bahrain, 
and undertake transactions in Bahraini dinars (with certain 
 
MANAMA 00002003  003 OF 005 
 
 
exemptions, such as dealings with other banks and government 
agencies). In all other respects, wholesale banks are 
regulated and supervised in the same way as the domestic 
banking sector. They are subject to the same regulations, 
on-site examination procedures, and external audit and 
regulatory reporting obligations. 
 
¶14. However, Bahrain's Commercial Companies Law (Legislative 
Decree 21 of 2001) does not permit the registration of 
offshore companies or international business companies 
(IBCs). All companies must be resident and maintain their 
headquarters and operations in Bahrain. Capital requirements 
vary, depending on the legal form of company, but in all 
cases the amount of capital required must be sufficient for 
the nature of the activity to be undertaken. In the case of 
financial services companies licensed by Central Bank, 
various minimum and risk-based capital requirements are also 
applied (in addition to a variety of other prudential 
requirements), in line with international standards of Basel 
Committee's "Core Principles for Effective Banking 
Supervision." 
 
---------------------------------- 
International Conventions and Laws 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶15. In March 2004, Bahrain issued a Legislative Decree 
ratifying the Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime. In June 2004, Bahrain published two Legislative 
Decrees ratifying the UN International Convention for the 
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and the UN 
International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist 
Bombings.  In January 2002, the BMA issued a circular 
implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Special 
Eight Recommendations on Terrorist Financing as part of the 
Central Bank's AML regulations, and subsequently froze two 
accounts designated by the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions Committee and 
one account listed under U.S. Executive Order 13224. 
 
------------------------------ 
Money Changers/Exchange Houses 
------------------------------ 
 
¶16. BMA Circular BC/1/2002 states that money changers may not 
transfer funds for customers in another country by any means 
other than Bahrain's banking system. In addition, all Central 
Bank licensees are required to include details of the 
originator's information with all outbound transfers. With 
respect to incoming transfers, licensees are required to 
maintain records of all originator information and to 
carefully scrutinize inward transfers that do not contain the 
originator's information, as they are presumed to be 
suspicious transactions. Licensees that suspect, or have 
reasonable grounds to suspect, that funds are linked or 
related to suspicious activities-including terrorist 
financing-are required to file suspicious transaction reports 
(STRs). Licensees must maintain records of the identity of 
their customers in accordance with the Central Bank's 
anti-money laundering regulations, as well as the exact 
amount of transfers. During 2004, the BMA consulted with the 
industry on changes to its existing AML/CFT regulations, to 
reflect revisions by the FATF to its Forty plus Nine 
Recommendations. Revised and updated BMA regulations were 
issued in mid- 2005. 
 
 
------------------------ 
Charitable Organizations 
------------------------ 
 
¶17. Legislative Decree No. 21 of 1989 governs the licensing 
of non-profit organizations. The Ministry of Social 
Development (MSD) is responsible for licensing and 
supervising charitable organizations in Bahrain. In February 
2004, as part of its efforts to strengthen the regulatory 
environment and fight potential terrorist financing, MSD 
issued a Ministerial Order regulating the collection of 
donated funds through charities and their eventual 
distribution, to help confirm the charities' humanitarian 
objectives. The regulations are aimed at tracking money that 
is entering and leaving the country. These regulations 
require organizations to keep records of sources and uses of 
financial resources, organizational structure, and 
membership. Charitable societies are also required to deposit 
their funds with banks located in Bahrain and may have only 
one account in one bank. The MSD has the right to inspect 
records of the societies to insure their compliance with the 
laws. Banks must report to the Central Bank any transaction 
 
MANAMA 00002003  004 OF 005 
 
 
by a charitable institution that exceeds 3,000 Bahraini 
dinars (roughly $8,000). MSD has the right to inspect records 
of the societies to insure their compliance with the law. 
 
----------------- 
Islamic Financing 
----------------- 
 
¶18. Bahrain is a leading Islamic finance center in the 
region. The sector has grown considerably since the licensing 
of the first Islamic bank in 1979. Bahrain has 32 Islamic 
banks and financial institutions. Given the large share of 
such institutions in Bahrain's banking community, the Central 
Bank has developed an appropriate framework for regulating 
and supervising the Islamic banking sector, applying 
regulations and supervision as it does with respect to 
conventional banks. In March 2002, the Central Bank 
introduced a comprehensive set of regulations for Islamic 
banks called the Prudential Information and Regulatory 
Framework for Islamic Banks (PIRI). The framework was 
designed to monitor certain banking aspects, such as capital 
requirements, governance, control systems, and regulatory 
reporting. 
 
-------- 
MENAFATF 
-------- 
 
¶19. In November 2004, Bahrain hosted the inaugural meeting of 
the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force 
(MENAFATF), which decided to place its Secretariat in 
Bahrain's capital city of Manama. An initial planning meeting 
was held in Manama in January 2004, and the FATF unanimously 
endorsed the MENAFATF proposal in July 2004. Bahrain's 
leadership was instrumental in establishing and hosting this 
entity. As a FATF-styled regional body, it promotes best 
practices on AML/CFT issues, conducts mutual evaluations of 
its members against the FATF standards, and works with its 
members to comply with international standards and measures. 
The creation of the MENAFATF is critical for pushing the 
region to improve the transparency and regulatory frameworks 
of their financial sectors. The selection of Bahrain to host 
the Secretariat of MENAFATF further demonstrates its 
commitment to combat financial crimes. 
 
¶20. In September 2006, Law 64/2006 replaced the BMA (de-facto 
central bank) with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Law 64 
consolidated several laws that had previously governed the 
various segments of the financial services industry. Under 
the law, the CBB enjoys reinforced operational independence 
and enhanced enforcement powers. Part 9 of the law, for 
example, outlines investigational and administrative 
proceedings at the CBB's disposal to ensure compliance of 
rules and regulations by licensees. The CBB's compliance arm 
was upgraded from a unit to a directorate. Pursuant to a May 
2005 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) finding, the 
CBB increased its compliance staff size from 6 to 7 and 
projects an increase to 9 by the start of 2007. 
 
¶21. In October 2006, the Policy Committee for the Prohibition 
and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 
introduced new anti-terror finance policies and regulations, 
which were presented to MENAFATF in Al 'Ain, UAE in November 
¶2006. The Committee also announced the formation of two 
sub-committees, the U.N. Sub-Committee will head a new 
inter-agency framework for disseminating and reviewing 
international financial crimes designations, and the Legal 
Sub-Committee will coordinate the drafting of any future 
financial crimes legislation. 
 
¶22. At its November 13-15 meeting, the MENAFATF commended 
Bahrain for its achievements in the area of AML/CFT and 
praised the government for its commitment to implement the 
FATF recommendations. 
 
¶23. Bahrain has demonstrated a commitment to establish a 
strong anti-money laundering and terrorist financing system 
and appears determined to engage its large financial sector 
in this effort. The Anti-Money Laundering Unit should 
maintain its efforts to obtain and solidify the necessary 
expertise in tracking suspicious transactions and in 
initiating and pursuing investigations in anti-money 
laundering and counterterrorist financing cases. The Ministry 
of Social Development should expand and provide training for 
its staff with NGO/charities oversight responsibilities. 
 
 
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MANAMA 00002003  005 OF 005 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
MONROE