KUWAIT CITY, March 5 : Kuwait’s Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) is in the final stages of completing procedures to contract directly with Financial Transparency Advisors (FTA) – an advisory firm based in Vienna, Austria. The firm will provide expert advice and technical assistance to support Kuwait’s ongoing efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, particularly during the follow-up process conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the International Cooperation Review Team.

The State Audit Bureau (SAB) has reviewed the direct contracting documents and raised no objections to proceeding with the contract with FTA for a total amount of 6.1 million euros within a period of 19 months; set to conclude on March 31, 2026. SAB emphasized the need for FIU to ensure that the prices offered by the firm are appropriate and in line with the market rates for such services. The bureau also highlighted the importance of continuing to train and qualify national staff to carry out the necessary tasks related to this research, so as not to further burden public funds with additional expenses related to special contracts for this issue. In its most recent report – last October, FATF noted “serious shortcomings” in Kuwait’s efforts to combat money laundering, despite the country having an adequate legal and regulatory frameworks. FATF pointed out failures in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing; although it acknowledged that regulatory bodies like the Central Bank, Capital Markets Authority and the Insurance Unit have a good understanding of the associated risks.