Mr. Mana AlKhamsan, CEO of the Financial Academy (FA), participated in the Arab Forum of Anti-Corruption Agencies and Financial Intelligence Units, giving a keynote address. The event was held in Riyadh under auspices of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In a speech entitled "Improving the Financial Sector Staff's Capabilities to Combat Financial Crimes and Corruption," AlKhamsan stated that the launch of KSA's Vision 2030 has marked the beginning of the Kingdom's real rise to the ranks of global advanced nations, since it included ambitious plans as well as economic, social and development programs.

"Among these essential components is the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) which focuses on strengthening the capacities of the financial sector's human resources, culminating in launching the Financial Academy in 2020 as a powerhouse for developing financial knowledge, skills and expertise," noted AlKhamsan.

"In doing so, the FA provides a wide range of innovative and effective activities, solutions and technologies that would boost the professional development of the financial sector's employees and support the collective efforts aiming to achieve human capital sustainable development."

He explained that the Academy, being a leading institution specializing in professional financial training, is fully aware of the dangers of financial crimes and their negative effects on societies and economies.

"Since the FA believes in the significance of its role with regard to qualifying human resources in the areas of Compliance, Financial Crimes Prevention (FCP), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), it designed a package of specialized training programs and professional certificates, and organized several gatherings and awareness seminars that center on these issues," he added.

AlKhamsan revealed that a total of 545 programs were carried out, benefiting about 9,000 trainees working in sectors of banking, financing, insurance and securities, in addition to governmental stakeholders.  

"Recognizing the importance of specialized professional certificates in advancing the competencies of human resources in different sectors, the FA provided a variety of the most prestigious certifications in partnership with internationally-renowned associations and institutions, most prominently the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the International Compliance Association (ICA). More than 2,500 male and female practitioners obtained these certificates until now."