Corporate Governance :
The Ministry of Commence Corporate Governance Initiative is focused on ensuring that companies operating in Bahrain have the best chance of success by encouraging the take-up of good corporate governance standards.
In line with its general policy of providing a market driven commercial environment, the Directorate is in close consultation with the private sector, so as to ensure that the corporate governance initiative is relevant and will achieve a high level of acceptance.
The initiative is a joint effort between the Ministry of Commerce and the Bahrain Monetary Agency, and operating through a Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from the private sector and government, is managed by KPMG.
The project commenced with a national survey designed to understand the position of private individuals and companies with regard to the issue, and to determine a way forward. A questionnaire prepared by the Directorate was marketed and administered by a market research consultancy InCite, and a summary of the results can be found by following the links to Publications.
The Corporate Governance Plan, which can be found in these section, includes the following steps :
Ministry position paper
Survey
Preparation of White Paper :
Preparation of Corporate Governance Guideline
The White Paper, and the resulting public debate is scheduled to complete in 2005 2nd quarter.
The Ministry has written a series of booklets designed to assist company directors in understanding their responsibilities under the Commercial Companies Law, as well as appreciating their wider responsibilities in creating long-term shareholders’ value and to the community as a whole. These booklets are available by following the links to Publications.
Documents :
Anti-Money Laundering :
Ministry of Commerce Order # 23 of 2002 with respect to procedures of prohibition of and combating money laundering, set out the Ministry’s enforcement mechanism for non-financial institutions under the Kingdom’s anti-money laundering law, Decree 4 of 2001.
The Directorate has a dual function in respect to anti-money laundering, since it acts as both a gatekeeper through its company incorporation activities, as well as receiving suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from the business required to file under the Ministerial Order. In addition, through its monitoring function, the Directorates financial analysis team, analyses financial statements from an anti-money laundering perspective, and makes inspection and follow-up visits to companies to determine the adequacy of their compliance systems.
Documents :
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AML Guideline
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AML Declaration