The AML-CFT Law defines a predicate offence as “any act constituting an offence or misdemeanour under the applicable laws of the State whether this act is committed inside or outside the State when such act is punishable in both countries.” A predicate offence is therefore any crime, whether felony or misdemeanour, which is punishable in the UAE, regardless of whether it is committed within the State or in any other country in which it is also a criminal offence.

FATF has designated 21 (twenty-one) categories of predicate offences. Each of these categories of predicate offences has been criminalised in the legislative framework of the State. FIs are reminded that this is not an exhaustive list of predicate offences, but simply a convenient categorisation, since in the UAE according to the AML-CFT Law, even crimes that do not appear on this list, whether felonies or misdemeanours, can be predicate offences to money laundering.

Based on expert analysis of these categories conducted on behalf of the UAE’s Competent Authorities for the 2018 National Risk Assessment, the top (highest) threats to the State in relation to money laundering have been identified as: fraud, counterfeiting and piracy of products, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and professional third-party money laundering.

Similarly, other (medium-high) threats of particular concern to the UAE in relation to money laundering have been identified as the categories of: insider trading and market manipulation, robbery and theft, illicit trafficking in stolen and other goods, forgery, smuggling (including in relation to customs and excise duties and taxes), tax crimes (related to direct taxes and indirect taxes), and terrorism (including terrorist financing).

While FIs should pay special attention to the most serious threats identified in the NRA and any topical risk assessment when performing their own ML/FT business risk assessments, they are reminded that their risk assessment operations should consider all categories of risk for applicability to their own particular circumstances.