UAE amends anti-money laundering regulations
The UAE’s laws on anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism have been updated, the government has announced.
It has introduced amendments designed to support efforts to fight financial crime, while consolidating the country’s technical compliance with international treaties, state news agency Wam reported.
The changes will see the introduction of a National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisation.
A Supreme Committee for the Oversight of the National Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing has also been established. This will study, oversee and assess the effectiveness of strategies and measures implemented by the National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations.
Wam said the initiative comes as the UAE intensifies its operations against fiscal crimes, specifically money laundering and financing of terrorism.
In early August 32 gold refineries were suspended for three months for non-compliance with the anti-money laundering laws.
A series of inspections on activities related to the trade and manufacture of precious metals and gemstones were carried out by the Ministry of Economy to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering legislation in the gold sector. Following this, the ministry charged the refineries with 256 violations, amounting to eight violations for each.
Among the alleged violations were failing to take proper measures to identify money laundering risks, not making required notifications of suspicious transactions to the Financial Information Unit and not examining customer and transaction databases against names on terrorism watch lists.
And earlier this month, the UAE Central Bank imposed a fine of Dh5.8 million ($1.6 million) on a bank operating in the Emirates for breaching the country’s laws on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT).
In 2021, the government founded an Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing after passing an anti-money laundering and terrorism financing law in 2018.
The value of fines imposed by regulatory authorities for AML/CTF breaches between January and October 2023 was Dh249.2 million ($67.9 million), compared with Dh76 million in 2022.
More than Dh10 million in fines imposed as targeted financial sanctions was collected between July and October 2023.
A sign of the progress made in recent years is that the country was removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘grey list’ this February, having been on it since 2022. The ‘grey list’ identifies countries that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing,
The decision to remove the UAE form the watchdog’s list was made after a comprehensive on-the-ground review of its economy.
The FATF is a global body that combats money laundering and terrorism financing.
In-Country Value initiative boosts domestic economy
The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s national In-Country Value (ICV) programme, which seeks to support domestic industrial growth, has redirected more than Dh48 billion ($13.1 billion) to the Emirates’ economy in the first half of 2024.
The programme has expanded its scope to include 31 federal and local government bodies as well as several major national companies, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
National ICV-certified companies made investments worth Dh205 billion by mid-year, an increase of 20% compared with the same period last year. Additionally, more than 3,500 certificates were issued to companies joining the ICV programme during the January-June period, the statement added.
The number of companies that obtained national ICV certificates stood at 6,500 during the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 30%.
The programme represents a “critical pillar in empowering the country’s industrial sector”, said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. “It plays a vital role in enhancing the business ecosystem, industrial competitiveness and creating job opportunities for national talent.”
The number of Emiratis working in companies that obtained the national ICV programme certificate reached about 19,000 in the first half of the year, up 40% on the same period last year, and compared with 6,180 jobs in 2020 when the ministry was established.
The ICV programme, part of the UAE’s ‘Projects of the 50’ that was launched in September 2021, aims to boost the growth of domestic industries by redirecting half of government spending on procurements and tender contracts into the national economy by 2031.
The programme also supports the goals of the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ campaign, which was launched by the ministry to attract investment and promote sustainable industrial development in the UAE.
