UAE central bank issues new anti-money laundering guidelines for banks
DUBAI, Sept 13 (Reuters) – The UAE’s central bank has issued new guidelines to financial institutions on anti-money laundering practices. .
Banks need to develop internal procedures and put up indicators to identify suspicious transactions and report them to the central bank’s financial intelligence unit, the bank said in a statement.
They must regularly check their databases and transactions against names on lists issued by the United Nations Security Council or the UAE government before making deals or engaging in business relations with individual and corporate clients.
They have one month from Tuesday to comply with the central bank’s requirements, the central bank said.
“The purpose of the guidance is to promote understanding and effective implementation of their statutory money laundering by licensed financial institutions and to combat the financing of terrorist liabilities,” it said.
The UAE government set up an executive office for money laundering and counter-terrorism financing in February, and last month Dubai set up a money laundering court.
The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental money laundering monitor, said last year that “fundamental and major reforms” were needed to prevent the UAE from being placed on a “gray list” of countries under increasing surveillance.
According to a study by the Tax Justice Network earlier this year, the country has emerged as one of the fastest growing corporate tax havens, attracting companies willing to reduce their tax bills.
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No World Technosys journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.