Amman, Jordan (27 April 2015) – The Middle East has been a target of organised crimes particularly in money laundering and several governments in the region have enacted laws to tackle such financial crimes. In January this year, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s Senate approved the amendments to the 2007 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing law, imposing a five-year prison sentence with hard labour for those laundering cash including money transfers suspected of financing terrorism.[1]

In line with the government’s strict rule on AML, Alawneh Exchange, a leader in the business of money exchange and remittances since 1966, has collaborated with SAS (http://www.sas.com/apps/sim/redirect.jsp?detail=SIM127638_7238), the leader in business analytics (http://www.sas.com/businessanalytics) software and services, to provide the company with AML solutions, which meet the compliance requirements of the country.

The SAS Anti-Money Laundering solution provides Alawneh Exchange with a risk-based approach to monitor transactions for any illicit activity. The solution consolidates information from all areas of a financial business, manages and refines that information, and turns it into usable knowledge that will automatically identify and classify suspicious behaviour.

“While money laundering in Jordan is not considered a major problem, our government has enacted a comprehensive AML system. As a recognised and reputable business in our country, we need to be more proactive towards reducing our vulnerability to financial crime,” said Assad Alawneh / Deputy GM of Alawneh Exchange.

“By adopting leading solutions from SAS, we are able to create infrastructure within our own network of 24 branches and facilitate effective anti-money laundering enforcement. The SAS AML Solution aims to guarantee that our internal control systems are able to detect potential money-laundering activity in a timely manner,” he added.

Shukri Dabaghi, Regional Director, Middle East & Francophone Africa at SAS, commenting on the partnership, “We are pleased to partner with Alawneh Exchange to further enhance the quality and security of their services. By providing our AML solutions, we hope to support Alawneh Exchange in their aim to monitor and detect any illegal money transactions.”

With SAS AML solution in place within Alawneh Exchange, the company complies with Jordanian’s AML laws and regulations. The solution uses high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods to monitor more risks in very large data volumes, in less time.

The solution also enables Alawneh Exchange to automatically monitor customers and counterparties for potential money laundering or terrorist financing behaviour, document the decision process and – if applicable – file regulatory reports with the appropriate authorities.

Alawneh Exchange grew from being a small exchange office in 1966 to become one of the most recognised and reputable money exchange establishments in Jordan. Alawneh Exchange currently has a network of 24 branches with more than 400 staff dedicated to serving customers.

SAS currently provides the only platform with core framework leveraged by AML, Fraud and Financial Crimes Management, FATCA, EGRC and other similar services. SAS delivers high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods so organisations can monitor more risks in very large data volumes. Additionally, organisations can standardise and manage strategic and operational risks and consolidate information into an enterprise-wide view of risk.