The purpose of these Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Illegal Organisations Guidelines for Financial Institutions (FIs) (Guidelines) is to provide guidance and assistance to supervised institutions that are FIs, in order to assist their better understanding and effective performance of their statutory obligations under the legal and regulatory framework in force in the United Arab Emirates (UAE or State).

These Guidelines have been prepared as a joint effort between the Supervisory Authorities of the UAE, and set out the minimum expectations of the Supervisory Authorities regarding the factors that should be taken into consideration by each of the supervised financial institutions which fall under their respective jurisdictions, when identifying, assessing and mitigating the risks of money laundering (ML), the financing of terrorism (FT), and the financing of illegal organisations.

Nothing in these Guidelines is intended to limit or otherwise circumscribe additional or supplementary guidance, circulars, notifications, memoranda, communications, or other forms of guidance or feedback, whether direct or indirect, which may be published on occasion by any of the Supervisory Authorities in respect of the supervised institutions which fall under their respective jurisdictions, or in respect of any specific supervised institution.

Finally, it should be noted that, guidance on the subject of the United Nations Targeted Financial Sanctions (TFS) regime, and the related Cabinet Decision No. (74) of 2020 Regarding Terrorism Lists Regulation and Implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions On the Suppression and Combating of Terrorism, Terrorists Financing & Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Related Resolutions is outside of the scope of these Guidelines.