Chief Executive of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Financial Intelligence National Center, May bint Mohamed AlKhalifa, Selected as New Egmont Group Vice-Chair
On behalf of all the Heads of Financial Intelligence Units (HoFIU), the Egmont Group (EG) congratulates May bint Mohamed AlKhalifa, Chief Executive of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Financial Intelligence National Center, on being selected as the new EG Vice-Chair for a two-year term.
With over fifteen years dedicated to serving justice, law, and order within the Ministry of Interior and her earlier years at the Information and eGovernment Authority, she has served in various security-sensitive positions.
Mrs. AlKhalifa was appointed to her current role in January 2023 to oversee the Center’s expansion after serving as Director of the Financial Intelligence Directorate since 2012, becoming the very first Arab woman in the Middle East and North Africa in this role.
On a national level, she was appointed in 2019 as Vice-President of the National Policy Committee for Combating Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing, entailing integral cross-government coordination with over 13 agencies represented, and served on the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bahrain since 2020, also becoming the first woman to receive such an appointment.
At the regional and international level, Mrs. AlKhalifa was elected in 2014 to serve two years as Vice-Chair of the EG’s Membership, Support, and Compliance Working Group (MSCWG), later becoming elected as the Regional Representative for the EG’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Group in 2020. She also heads the Kingdom of Bahrain’s delegation to the MENAFATF, is a member of the Kingdom’s Delegation to the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG), and currently holds the position of Executive Committee Member of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, based in Riyadh.
Mrs. AlKhalifa holds women’s education in high regard. She attained a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Bahrain in 2005 and a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance in 2004. Mrs. AlKhalifa has earned a Civil Supervisory Diploma from the Bahrain Institute of Public Administration focused on leadership and has undergone intensive training at the United Kingdom’s National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) after completing the International Commanders Program. In December 2022, she received the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Distinguished Security Service Medal, and in May 2023, she earned Prince Salman Bin Hamad’s Medical Merit for serving as a pandemic volunteer.
Mrs. AlKhalifa firmly believes and practices that no power is above the law and is a keen children’s rights advocate, actively supports cancer research, and eagerly promotes modern arts and creative design.
The EG is fortunate to have seen Mrs. Alkhalifa’s expertise in action throughout her leadership in previous roles within the organization and is looking forward to seeing what her knowledge and dedication bring to this new role. Congratulations May!
