7.1 Role of the Financial Intelligence Unit
Effective from 13/7/2023(AML-CFT Law Articles 9-10; AML-CFT Decision Articles 13, 16, 17.1, 21.2 and 5, 40-43, 46.1-4, 49.2-3)
The FIU of the UAE is established within the premises of the Central Bank, however, the FIU operates independently by legal and regulatory mandate as the central national agency with sole responsibility for performing the following functions:
| • | Receiving and analysing STRs from FIs and DNFBPs, and disseminating the results of its analysis to the Competent Authorities of the State; |
| • | Receiving and analysing reports of suspicious cases from the Federal Customs Authority; |
| • | Requesting additional information and documents relating to STRs, or any other data or information it deems necessary to perform its duties, from FIs, DNFBPs, and Competent Authorities, including information relating to customs disclosures; |
| • | Cooperating and coordinating with Supervisory Authorities by disseminating the outcomes of its analysis, specifically with respect to the quality of STRs, to ensure the compliance of FIs and DNFBPs with their statutory AML/CFT obligations; |
| • | Sending data relating to STRs and the outcomes of its analyses and other relevant data, including information obtained from foreign FIUs, to national Law Enforcement Authorities, prosecutorial authorities and judiciary authorities when actions are required by those authorities in relation to a suspected crime; |
| • | Exchanging information with its counterparts in other countries, with respect to STRs or any other information to which it has access. |
Under the aegis of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations, and for the effective performance of its functions, the FIU maintains operational protocols with numerous national and international Competent Authorities.
The FIU has launched the GoAML system for the purposes of facilitating the filing of STRs by all FIs. FIs shall register themselves on the GoAML system by following the procedure manual and maintain their registration in an active status. The Compliance Officer of the company can register as the user of the system. GoAML provides a secure link of each FI to the FIU through their respective supervisory authorities. The system hosts processes for facilitating filing of STRs. It also has an .xml schema for filing batches of STRs. The guidance documents for filing of STRs are posted on the dashboard of this system. All new licensed FIs shall register themselves immediately after obtaining their financial services license so as to confirm their readiness for filing of STRs from the beginning.
The STRs are received by the FIU and processed for any required further information or documents or for further action by Law Enforcement or Supervisory Authorities. The FIU maintains a record of these STRs, performs a trend analysis to understand the prevailing trends in transactions and sectors or Institutions where possibility of ML or FT exists and this trend analysis is shared with all the registered users of GoAML through the system by means of a periodic trends and typologies report.