Central Bank of UAE imposes sanctions on 11 banks for compliance failure

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has imposed financial sanctions on 11 banks operating in the UAE. The sanctions amounting to AED 45.75M were imposed on 24 January 2021, under Article 14 of the Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations (AML/CFT) Law and its executive regulations.

However, the names of the banks have not been revealed yet.

The action comes as banks failed to comply with AML/CFT Law in 2019. The CBUAE granted all banks operating in the country sufficient time to adhere to the law as it directed in mid-2019 to ensure the compliance by year-end to avoid the penalties.

A statement from the central bank said: "The financial sanctions take into account the banks' failure to achieve appropriate levels of compliance regarding their AML & Sanctions Compliance Frameworks as at the end of 2019. All banks operating in the UAE have been allowed ample time by the CBUAE to remedy any shortcomings and were instructed in the middle of 2019 to ensure compliance by the end of that year, informing them that further shortcomings would result in penalties under the Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 and its executive regulation."