CBUAE
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UAE Central Bank updates AML guidance for licensed financial institutions
UAE financial institutions must recalibrate AML controls across PF, trade and CDD risk
Change
The UAE Central Bank issued an updated AML/CFT/CPF guidance package for Licensed Financial Institutions and Registered Hawala Providers covering PF, TBML, correspondent banking, CDD/KYC, record keeping, institutional risk assessment and role-based training.
Why it matters
The guidance package turns AML/CFT/CPF expectations into specific control areas that LFIs and Registered Hawala Providers must evidence. Institutions must connect customer-risk profiling, trade/transshipment exposure, correspondent banking risk, PF monitoring, institutional risk assessment and role-based training into their compliance systems. Weaknesses identified through PF risk and control evaluation require remedial action rather than passive monitoring.
Implications
- — AML compliance teams at UAE Licensed Financial Institutions and Registered Hawala Providers must map existing policies, procedures and controls against the new PF, TBML, correspondent banking and CDD guidance — gaps identified in the control framework require remedial action.
- — CDD and onboarding teams must verify customer identities, build customer risk profiles and retain required data and documentation across the customer relationship — the guidance clarifies that ML/TF/PF exposure assessment is not limited to onboarding.
- — Financial-crime training owners must implement role-based AML/CFT/CPF training for employees and senior management — generic training does not satisfy the guidance’s specialised capability-building expectation.
Who is affected
- — AML compliance teams at UAE Licensed Financial Institutions
- — Registered Hawala Providers supervised by CBUAE
- — CDD, onboarding and record-keeping teams
- — Financial-crime training and senior-management compliance owners