The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has imposed financial sanctions totaling Dh4.1 million on three exchange houses operating in the country, citing serious violations of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations.
Following comprehensive inspections, the central bank uncovered multiple instances of non-compliance with regulatory obligations under Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 and related AML-CFT frameworks. The violations reportedly included failures in customer due diligence, monitoring of suspicious transactions, and reporting mechanisms.
The CBUAE stressed in a formal statement that all licenced financial institutions must rigorously abide by AML/CFT laws and regulations and reiterated its dedication to maintaining the integrity of the UAE’s financial system. The central bank issued a warning that future infractions of this nature may result in harsher sanctions and perhaps licence suspensions.
Although the exchange houses’ names have not been made public, the sanctions show how closely the UAE is monitoring money laundering threats and how it is still working to comply with global financial compliance guidelines, such as those established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
