ABSTRACT
The main goal of this chapter is to assess a set of standardised and specialised policies and technical solutions applied in the finance industry after the events of the “Arab Spring,” where numerous protests and social uprisings led to the political transitions or power shifts of highly internationally questioned political regimes such as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. It aims to explain how political rebellions that spread around the regions were not only a defining factor in analysing power strategies of radical or terrorist organisations in those countries but can also explain operational differences in criminal finance in a pre- and post-Arab Spring period. As such, any description on the different policies and regulations implemented to try to counterattack the increasing efforts of financial crime should be assessed by taking into consideration the political climate, highly altered by the armed rebellions, protests, and uprisings that accompanied the political events between 2010 and 2012.
