Central Bank enforces rules
UAE fights illicit finance
The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed financial penalties on six exchange houses in the UAE for failing to comply with anti-money laundering controls.
The exchange houses, whose names were not revealed, were fined AED12.3 million ($3.4 million), the central bank said in a statement.
The sanctions were imposed based on the findings of investigations conducted by the central bank, which revealed the violations and failures to comply with the anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism framework.
In December 2024 Dubai busted two major international networks conducting money laundering operations worth a total of AED641 million.
In February 2024 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed the UAE from its so-called grey list, in recognition of the Gulf state’s efforts to curb illicit financial flows.
The FATF – an intergovernmental organisation established to combat money laundering and terrorist financing – placed the Gulf state under enhanced supervision, known as the grey list, in March 2022, citing weaknesses in systems to fight financial crime and combat the financing of terrorism.
