The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) and other regulators in the country have released new guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the UAE. These guidelines include penalties for VASPs that operate without the proper licenses. The National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations Committee (NAMLCFTC) and the CBUAE have published a list of “Red Flags” for VASPs, which includes indicators of suspicious activity such as the lack of a regulatory license and poor communication. The supervisory authorities expect all licensed financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and licensed VASPs to report transactions from suspicious parties. The central bank has also stated that VASPs operating without a valid license will face civil and criminal penalties, including financial sanctions. Additionally, financial institutions and licensed VASPs that engage with unlicensed VASPs will also face actions from law enforcement. The new guidance is part of the UAE’s efforts to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list,” which indicates deficiencies in the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) regimes. The UAE has made significant reforms since being placed on the grey list in 2022 and may exit the list if it continues to demonstrate compliance during the next FATF review in April or May 2024.

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Information	Details
Geography	Middle East
Countries	🇦🇪
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	1
People	Khaled Mohamed Balama, Irina Heaver
Companies	LFIs, DNFBPs, CBUAE, NAMLCFTC, FATF
Currencies	None
Securities	None