International conference in Bahrain today on money laundering

The third international conference for strategies and means of combating money laundering and crimes of financial and administrative corruption in the Middle East started today in Algeria.

Specialists and bankers from the Middle East countries and Britain are participating in the two-day conference, whose discussions focus on examining the effects of money laundering on international economies and the effect of organized crime on the banking system in the Middle East as well as means of preventing this phenomenon.

The conference will also discuss how the role played by the Internet in these activities, new issues in electronic trade and how governments respond to such risks as well as money laundering's threat to the economy.

A Bahraini economic source said, "The conference will seek a unified stance to reach a more stable and independent financial system in the Middle East."