Anti-Money Laundering
Anti-Money Laundering in Dubai, UAE
Money laundering in Dubai is an illegal process that generates large amounts of money through criminal activities such as terrorist financing or drug trafficking. It is a serious financial crime in the UAE, seriously affecting business growth rates and tax revenues. It is easy to see that the fight against money laundering in Dubai is damaging the reputation that a company has built over many years.
The UAE is at the heart of international trade and commerce. For this reason, the UAE government is constantly improving financial regulations and implementing them effectively to combat anti-money laundering risks in the Dubai region. These money launderers go through these three steps to clean their black money:
Deployment: Transfer of dirty money to a legitimate financial institution. In other words, black money is channeled into legitimate businesses and financial systems.
Layering: A series of transactions and accounting tricks are used to conceal the origin of the funds. At this stage, a complex web of transactions is set up to conceal the original owner and the source of the funds.
Integration: Criminals take the laundered money out of the legitimate account and use it. At this stage, the dirty money is mixed and integrated into the legitimate economy. This is done in a very clever way to ensure a correct explanation of the origin of the funds and the source of the money. This is usually done by investing in real estate, precious metals such as gold or, today, cryptocurrencies.
Recent developments in anti-money laundering laws in the UAE
Money laundering in the UAE is a global risk as it turns billions of black monies into white money. This is why anti-money laundering laws have been developed in the UAE to make it more difficult to hide and corrupt money. Anti-money laundering laws in the UAE are an essential protection for businesses. Financial institutions in the region have a crucial role to play in getting out of this pool of dirty money. As the UAE Central Bank has made clear, it is tackling money laundering and dirty money:
“A key role of the UAE Central Bank is to ensure that all licensed financial institutions have a thorough understanding of their role in mitigating and preventing the risk of illicit activities in the UAE financial system.”
In addition, recent guidelines for licensed financial institutions require companies to report directly to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and complete a “Suspicious Activity Report” on any suspicious activity within the company.
Penalties for money laundering and financial terrorism
The United Arab Emirates has strengthened its judicial authorities in the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering in the UAE by circumventing severe penalties. A person or group caught in a money laundering case faces up to 15 years in prison, suspension of their license and a fine equal to the amount of dirty money. The UAE authorities have put in place intelligent systems to detect falsified or multi-tiered accounts hiding illicit assets. In addition, officials must pay heavy fines of UAD 50 million for tolerating this illegal activity.
Natural and legal persons must register with the AML system: Companies subject to money laundering rules must be supervised by a supervisory authority. Companies in four categories must register with the AML. The following guide will help you decide whether you need to register.
Real estate agents and brokers: Real estate agents are required to have an anti-money laundering registration when negotiating immediate residences, selling or buying commercial land and renting out any property in order to gain the trust of their clients.
Dealers in gold and other precious metals: All precious metals dealers are subject to anti-money laundering registration, after which our advisors report any suspicious transaction or series of transactions through a suspicious transaction report (STR).
Accountants and auditors: Ensure that all financial transactions and accounting records of businesses are conducted legally. This anti-money laundering declaration of good faith protects businesses from financial crime.
Corporate service providers and trust funds: Registration in the UAE is mandatory for business service providers and trust funds carrying out activities for clients.
Anti-money laundering registration in the UAE: In the UAE, all organizations regulated by the Central Bank or other financial institutions are required to register with goAML (the anti-money laundering system), which strategically monitors financial crime. To register with goAML, the following documents are required;
- A valid and active e-mail address of the nominee.
- An active mobile phone number (UAE or international acceptable).
- All supporting documents for the organization and the nominee are provided in a consolidated PDF file.
- Letter of authority from the institution
- Nominee details to be provided as administrator and user of the system
- A valid copy of passport
- Copy of a valid permanent residence visa
- Valid Emirates ID
- Valid business license
Al-Hayat Consulting plays a key role in AML compliance in Dubai
Al-Hayat Consulting is always happy to improve your business compliance in Dubai to ensure that you stay out of trouble. Our AML professionals monitor client transactions and report suspicious financial activities, complying with all relevant AML rules and regulations. We will thoroughly analyze your company’s existing AML system and make recommendations to facilitate the AML compliance process.
How do Al-Hayat Consulting fight AML?
Al-Hayat Consulting fully understands the implications of money laundering in the UAE market. That’s why it provides quality AML compliance services that comply with Dubai, Sharjah and UAE regulations. Al-Hayat Consulting uses some proven tactics to combat money laundering:
Data analytics and transaction monitoring
Our anti-money laundering specialists detect potential risks related to geographical locations and extract valuable information from them. We also closely monitor customer transactions and accounts for suspicious activity that could be indicative of money laundering. This allows them to detect money launderers, even if they are using multiple PINs or connections for financial terrorism.
Regular communication with each other
We always believe in an open relationship with our clients to keep each other informed about the implementation of anti-money laundering legislation in Dubai. Al-Hayat Consulting provides daily reports through a standardized system and organizes regular meetings to achieve your business objective.
Customer Due Diligence (CDD)
Al-Hayat Consulting duly complies with the CDD measures put in place to ascertain the nature of business and verify the legitimate identity of clients. Clients suspected of money laundering are subject to enhanced due diligence (EDD) measures by a team of anti-money laundering professionals, financial analysts and compliance experts.
Structured AML training
Al-Hayat Consulting not only provide advice on anti-money laundering compliance but also enhance your managers’ and employees’ knowledge of anti-money laundering laws and regulations, customer due diligence (CDD) and enhanced due diligence (EDD), know-your-customer (KYC) and their verification. This industry-specific training helps you stay on the safe side and protect your business from punishment. Al-Hayat Consulting pride themselves on providing the best financial advisory and compliance services to their clients. You can contact us using the details below, or register for a completely free call by scrolling up and filling in the form.
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