Anti Money Laundering Services in UAE

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) identifies countries or jurisdictions with significant strategic deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation. These high-risk areas are commonly referred to as “blacklisted” countries.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) identifies countries actively addressing strategic deficiencies in their regimes against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. Placing a jurisdiction under increased monitoring signifies its commitment to swiftly resolve identified deficiencies within agreed timeframes, subjecting it to enhanced scrutiny. These countries are often referred to as grey-listed.

In the context of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) in the UAE, STR (Suspicious Transaction Report) or SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) refers to a formal report that financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) are required to submit to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the UAE Central Bank. This report is filed when there is suspicion or reasonable grounds to believe that a transaction or activity may involve;

• The proceeds of crime (Money laundering and related predicate offenses, or financing of terrorism or illegal organisations);
• Being related to the crimes of money laundering and related predicate offences, the financing of terrorism or illegal organisations; and
• Being intended to be used in an activity related to such crimes.

Disclosing, directly or indirectly, to customers or third parties that they are under scrutiny or investigation by any competent authority for potential involvement in suspicious transactions related to money laundering or terrorist financing.

Red flags in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refer to indicators essential to be aware of suspicious activities. Red flag indications help companies detect and report involvement of any fraud or suspicious activities easier. It helps the Compliance officer and front-line employees to categorize suspicious activities and to protects your business enterprise from losses and fraudulent activities that might result from illegal transactions or funds.

Executive Office for Control and Non- Proliferation (EOCN)

Sanctions restrictions, including TFS measures, must be implemented by any Person (both natural and legal entities), including government authorities and Financial Institutions, Designated Non-Financial Business Professions, and Virtual Asset Service Providers located in the UAE and operating within the UAE’s jurisdiction.

A false positive is a partial name match to listed individuals, entities, or groups, either due to the common nature of the name or due to ambiguous identifying data, which on examination proves not to be a confirmed match.

Partial Name Match Report (PNMR): A partial name match is when there is a partial match between identifiers in the TFS Sanctions Lists with any information in databases and are unable to conclude a false positive or a confirmed match. In case a partial name match is identified, the company is required to suspend without delay any transaction, refrain from offering any funds, other assets or services, and submit a Partial Name Match Report (PNMR) through goAML.

Fund Freeze Report: If the individual, entity, or group matches all of the key identifiers published on the TFS Sanctions Lists, then the result is considered a ‘confirmed match’. In case a confirmed match is identified, the company must freeze without delay (within 24 hours) all funds and other assets and submit a Funds Freeze Report (FFR) through goAML within five business days of implementing the freezing measures.

We can report it by sending an email to the Executive Office on iec@uaeiec.gov.ae with details of the case and attaching all supporting documentation.

No. The reports regarding TFS submitted through goAML are received simultaneously by the Executive Office and your relevant Supervisory Authority.

Whitelisting in the context of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to the process by which certain entities or individuals are pre-approved or exempted from specific regulatory requirements or scrutiny, typically because they are deemed low-risk or trusted. Whitelisting can involve exempting customers from enhanced due diligence procedures or regulatory reporting obligations, provided they meet predefined criteria demonstrating their low-risk status. It aims to streamline compliance efforts while maintaining effective monitoring of potential illicit financial activities.

Smurfing is a money-laundering technique involving the structuring of large amounts of cash into multiple small transactions. It is also done to avoid detection or suspicion by government authorities

This is a method of money laundering used by criminals which relies on exploiting the bank accounts of customers expecting to receive legitimate funds. Genuine customer deposits legitimate funds with a remitter to send to a genuine overseas beneficiary. The corrupt remitter retains the legitimate funds and subsequently makes them available to the criminals along with the transaction details. Criminals deposit illicit local cash into the beneficiary’s account