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 Organizations¹ (issued by Notice No. 74/2019 dated 19/06/2019) and the Executive Office of the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control‘s (“Executive Office”) Guidance on Targeted Financial Sanctions for Financial Institutions and Designated Non-financial Business and Professions² (circulated by CBUAE Notice No. 2893 dated 02/06/2021) and any amendments or updates thereof. 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.
² Available at: https://www.uaeiec.gov.ae/en-us/un-page#