Adel Al-Qulish is a senior adviser to the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and vice-chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC). Al-Qulish began his career in the private sector and later joined SAMA with the responsibility for onsite supervision of financial institutions to ensure their compliance with Saudi laws. In 2004, he joined the MENA Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) as the first executive secretary. He moved to Bahrain to perform his professional duties, which included coordinating with member countries in their efforts to curb money laundering and fight terror financing. He subsequently became an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force, as it managed to accomplish remarkable achievements. After a successful stint with MENAFATF, he rejoined SAMA in 2017. Speaking at the 11th Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Seminar in Riyadh on Monday, he said: “We have had several AML laws since 2003. During the past few years, we have been working to fill the gaps in these legacy laws in line with our vision to protect the financial sector and support global efforts in combating financial crime.” On the evaluation process, Al-Qulish noted that members of the assessment team came from different countries. “The team had diverse perspectives and interpretations. We knew the process would not be an easy one and for that reason, we started our preparations three years prior to the exercise. “Throughout the exercise, we managed to prove the effectiveness of our system and our capacity to produce solid results,” he added.