Oman tops Arab world with lowest risk of terror funding, money laundering

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman has topped the Arab world as the country with the lowest risk regarding money laundering and terror financing according to a reputed Switzerland- based institute. 

The Basel AML Index 2014 published by the Basel Institute on Governance has ranked Oman 29th globally with a score of 4.76 on a scale from 0 (low risk) to ten (high risk). This year's index covers 162 countries 13 more than the 2013 edition.

Among GCC states (see box) Qatar has been ranked second at 37 with a risk rate of 4.96 while UAE comes last at 103 with a rating of 6.33.

According to ONA the ranking reflects the successful efforts of Oman's government the National Commission for Anti- Money Laundering and Terror Financing as well as ROP's Financial Intelligence Unit. Iran with a score of 8.56 comes last on the global rankings with Finland topping the list with a rate of 2.51.

The index includes indicators that assess the performance of countries on a number of indicators such as corruption finance of terrorism and money laundering risks. It also weighs transparency political risks and legal liabilities.

The institute does not generate its own data but relies on data from various publicly available sources such as the World Bank Transparency International and World Economic Forum.