The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates stated in a press release today, Tuesday, that it has imposed administrative measures followed by a financial penalty on a bank operating in the country, in accordance with Article (14) of Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 regarding the combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organizations, as well as related materials and decisions issued by the Cabinet and the Board of Directors of the Central Bank.
The Central Bank indicated that it has taken a two-step approach to enforce the administrative measures and financial penalty. It continued, "On August 4, 2021, the Central Bank imposed regulatory measures on the bank, requiring it to appoint a consultant to take urgent necessary actions to address and rectify deficiencies in the approved framework for compliance with money laundering and sanctions requirements at the bank."
It clarified that the regulatory measures are still in effect, and the Central Bank will continue to coordinate with the bank to complete the process of addressing and rectifying the mentioned deficiencies. Additionally, on November 4, 2021, the Central Bank imposed a financial penalty of 19.5 million dirhams due to the bank's failure to achieve adequate compliance levels regarding anti-money laundering and sanctions frameworks over an extended period.
The Central Bank pointed out that all banks operating in the UAE are required to achieve suitable compliance levels with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism standards, and the Central Bank has given them sufficient time to address any deficiencies. It explained that if these deficiencies are not corrected, financial penalties will be imposed by the Central Bank. The Central Bank will continue to work with all licensed financial institutions in the country to achieve and maintain high levels of compliance with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism requirements, and it will also continue to impose additional administrative or financial penalties by law, in cases of non-compliance.
The Central Bank stated that the bank concerned has the right to appeal against the imposed financial penalties.
