Article 44.11 of the Cabinet Decision No. (10) of 2019 Concerning the Implementing Regulation of Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations charges Supervisory Authorities with “providing Financial Institutions…with guidelines and feedback to enhance the effectiveness of implementation of the Crime-combatting measures.”

The purpose of this Guidance is to assist the understanding and effective performance by the United Arab Emirates Central Bank’s (“CBUAE”) licensed financial institutions (“LFIs”) of their statutory obligations under the legal and regulatory framework in force in the UAE. It should be read in conjunction with the CBUAE’s Procedures for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illicit Organizations (issued by Notice No. 74/2019 dated 19/06/2019) and Guidelines on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illicit Organizations for Financial Institutions (issued by Notice 79/2019 dated 27/06/2019) and any amendments or updates thereof.¹ As such, while this Guidance neither constitutes additional legislation or regulation nor replaces or supersedes any legal or regulatory requirements or statutory obligations, it sets out the expectations of the CBUAE for LFIs to be able to demonstrate compliance with these requirements. In the event of a discrepancy between this Guidance and the legal or regulatory frameworks currently in force, the latter will prevail. This Guidance may be supplemented with additional separate guidance materials, such as outreach sessions and thematic reviews conducted by the Central Bank.

Furthermore, this Guidance takes into account standards and guidance issued by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), industry best practices and red flag indicators. These are not exhaustive and do not set limitations on the measures to be taken by LFIs in order to meet their statutory obligations under the legal and regulatory framework currently in force. As such, LFIs should perform their own assessments of the manner in which they should meet their statutory obligations.

This Guidance comes into effect immediately upon its issuance by the CBUAE with LFIs expected to demonstrate compliance with its requirements within one month from its coming into effect.

¹ Available at https://www.centralbank.ae/en/cbuae-amlcft.

Unless otherwise noted, this guidance applies to all natural and legal persons, which are licensed and/or supervised by CBUAE, in the following categories:

This Guidance builds upon the provisions of the following laws and regulations:

With respect to transaction monitoring (“TM”), and as per Articles 4.2 (a) and 20 of AML-CFT Decision, LFIs are obliged to develop internal policies, controls, and procedures that are commensurate with the nature and size of their business and are approved by senior management to enable them to manage the crime risks that have been identified. They must also continuously update them. Furthermore, under Article 16 of AML-CFT Decision, LFIs must put in place indicators that can be used to identify suspicious transactions and other activity in order to file suspicious transaction reports (“STR”), suspicious activity reports (“SAR”) or other report types to the UAE’s Financial Intelligence Unit (“FIU). LFIs must update these indicators on an ongoing basis, in line with all applicable instructions from the UAE’s supervisory authorities and FIU.

With respect to sanctions screening, and as per Article 21.2 of Cabinet Decision 74, LFIs are obliged to regularly screen their databases and transactions against names on lists issued by the UNSC and its relevant Committees (UN Consolidated List) or by the UAE Cabinet (Local Terrorist List), and also immediately when notified of any changes to any of such lists. Such screening must include regular searches of their customer databases, parties to any transactions, potential customers, beneficial owners, and persons and organizations with which the LFI has a direct or indirect relationship. LFIs must also screen their customer database before conducting any transaction, or entering into a business relationship with any person, to ensure that their name is not listed on the UN Consolidated List or the Local Terrorist List.

For more details and information, please refer to the Executive Office of the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control’s (“Executive Office”) Guidance on TFS for Financial Institutions and Designated Non-financial Business and Professions², the CBUAE’s Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on the Implementation of TFS, and the CBUAE’s Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on STR³. LFIs should consult the CBUAE’s and the Executive Office’s websites as updated from time to time.

² Available at: https://www.uaeiec.gov.ae/en-us/un-page.
³ Available at: https://www.centralbank.ae/en/cbuae-amlcft.