As part of the campaign recently launched by the UAE government to tighten the noose on suspicious financial transactions and transactions, and to confront the money laundering mafia and financing terrorist operations, the government confiscated financial assets and funds worth more than two billion dirhams.

For his part, Khalid Mohammed Balami, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, confirmed during his recent speech at the National Summit in Abu Dhabi, that the UAE government has been able to achieve significant progress in maintaining the efficiency and integrity of its financial sector.

His Excellency explained that all regulatory authorities within the country are keen to impose strict measures on violators, as financial penalties have increased to more than 250 million dirhams, compared to 80 million dirhams in 2022.

The Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE also confirmed during his speech that the bank is in the process of launching a regulatory technology program, the first of its kind in the region, which will enable early detection and warning of risks, based on data evaluation processes, to determine the extent of exposure to money laundering operations.

It is worth noting that the government conducted more than 4,000 inspections of higher-risk entities last year out of a total of nearly 15,000 regulated institutions and companies, representing a 450 percent increase.

Earlier this year, the UAE launched its National Strategy for Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing 2024-2027, which set out eleven strategic objectives to support legislation related to risk assessment, screening and international cooperation, ensuring regular reporting of suspicious activities/transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit, and implementing targeted sanctions to address predicate offences.

In a related context, Fatima Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Financial Crimes at the Central Bank of the UAE, confirmed that the country has taken proactive measures to enhance responsibility and accountability and support innovation by requiring licensed financial institutions to conduct risk assessments, including prevalence assessments, in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. This has enabled us to identify areas of compliance weakness and provide the necessary training and guidance.