Money Laundering Laws in English

Money Laundering Laws Information

UAE anti-money laundering legislation sits at the intersection of federal criminal law and financial-sector regulation. The framework combines a federal AML statute with implementing regulations issued by the Central Bank, the Securities and Commodities Authority, and the various free-zone regulators. Together these instruments criminalise the laundering of criminal proceeds, define predicate offences, and impose compliance obligations on banks, exchange houses, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and virtual asset service providers.

The compliance regime requires regulated entities to perform customer due diligence, identify beneficial owners, file suspicious transaction reports with the Financial Intelligence Unit, retain records for prescribed periods, and maintain risk-based AML programmes. Sanctions for non-compliance range from administrative fines to licence revocation and criminal liability for officers. Researchers and compliance teams using the English translations on this page should also review related instruments in UAE federal laws covering banking, payment services, and the freezing of terrorist assets.