Gulf News, 21 April 2025: The UAE Central Bank has imposed financial sanctions on an unnamed banking entity following an examination that revealed significant gaps in its internal anti-money laundering (AML) processes.

This decision underscores the Central Bank’s commitment to ensuring all banks and their staff comply with UAE laws, regulations, and standards related to AML. The penalty was issued after the Central Bank assessed the findings of its examination, which indicated non-compliance with AML policies, reflecting the regulator’s stringent enforcement of compliance requirements across the financial sector, including banks, currency exchange houses, and insurers.

The sanctioned bank must address the identified deficiencies and align its operations with national AML standards. This development follows the Central Bank’s announcement last year that a new internal entity, the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations Committee (NAMLCFTC), would oversee anti-money laundering operations.

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