On 21 January 2025, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) hosted a series of Online Sessions for the Government of Kuwait on Targeted Financial Sanctions, Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance to strengthen national stakeholders’ capabilities to address risks related to terrorist financing and build criminal justice practitioners’ capacities to prevent, investigate and prosecute these crimes.
The event, which was generously funded by Kuwait, was attended by more than 300 participants from the judiciary, regulatory authorities, the financial services industry and the private sector, thus raising broad multi-sector awareness of the current terrorist financing risk in Kuwait, building on the October 2024 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and MENAFATF mutual evaluation report of Kuwait. During the sessions, in-depth presentations from subject matter experts improved participants’ understanding of and ability to apply good practices with regard to targeted financial sanctions, effective tracing, freezing and confiscation of illicit assets, mutual legal assistance and cross-border cooperation, including in relation to new technologies and new payment methods.
As the IIJ’s Director of Administration and Outreach, Mr. Reinhard Uhrig, and Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Development and International Cooperation, Ambassador Hamad Al-Mashaan, underscored in their remarks during the program, the IIJ and Kuwait share a deep commitment to countering terrorism and terrorism financing. The IIJ remains dedicated to advancing its collaboration with the Government of Kuwait, a valued member of our Governing Board of Administrators, to strengthen national practitioners’ capacities to counter the threat of terrorism.