UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Stuart Paterson, Janine Mallis, Tania Forichon and Elif Eren Ozenir, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
development of AI and other automation tools, such as AI agents) to facilitate the detection and investiga - tion of crimes, and enforce penalties. Notably, in Sep - tember 2025 in Abu Dhabi, UK firm Themis launched its AI Investigator, which automates large data pro - cessing and due diligence. The AI Investigator has been promoted as a tool capable of analysing millions of data points in seconds to unmask hidden links to financial crimes. It is unclear whether the Abu Dhabi authorities will leverage such technology to assist in investigations, but it is plausible given the scale of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to investing in AI over the next two years (AED13 billion between 2025 and 2027 as part of its “Falcon Economy” vision). 2.5 Internal Investigations UAE law does not generally mandate that internal investigations be conducted (save, for instance, in the employment context where an employee can only be terminated without notice after an internal investiga - tion has been conducted to prove wrongdoing, see Article 44 of Federal Decree-Law No 33 of 2021, the “Labour Law”). However, the AML Law requires financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and profes - sions (DNFBPs) to establish internal policies, controls and procedures approved by senior management to manage and mitigate risks, and to apply these across all majority-owned branches and affiliates (Article 16 (d)). Similarly, the ADGM Regulations and the Dubai Finan - cial Services Authority (DFSA) Rulebook require reg - ulated entities to maintain systems and controls to detect and prevent financial crime, including monitor - ing for suspicious activity or transactions in relation to potential money laundering or terrorist financing. See also 4.4 Whistle-Blower Protection for more detail. While in most cases, internal investigations are not legally mandated, they are often conducted in response to incidents or regulatory inquiries. Regula - tors may expect to see the outcome of such investi - gations to assess compliance, determine facts and decide sanctions. There is no general obligation to share findings with authorities unless required by reg - ulators or otherwise required pursuant to the general
obligation in the Penal Code to report crimes in the UAE. PDPL 2021 (Article 4) prohibits the processing of per - sonal data without the consent of the owner, except in some cases, including where: • the processing is necessary to protect a public interest; • the processing is necessary for claiming legal rights or as part of a judicial or security procedure; or • a controller or data subject needs to meet obliga - tions or exercise employment or social protection rights. While the DIFC and ADGM recognise common-law legal privilege, there is no statutory recognition under federal UAE law and, although legal advice may be confidential, the authorities can still compel its dis - closure. 2.6 Prosecution See 2.1 White-Collar Enforcement Authorities . 2.7 Deferred Prosecution Deferred prosecution agreements are not recognised under UAE law. Although not an example of deferred prosecution, it is possible for a claimant and a defendant to enter into reconciliation or an amicable settlement prior to trial in certain circumstances. In practical terms, this is more likely to result in criminal charges not being pur - sued where the amicable settlement is reached at the investigation stage (before the complaint is referred to court). Article 236 of the Penal Code provides a list of crimes for which the public prosecutor may accept con - ciliation in return for the defendant’s payment of an amount between AED50,000 and AED500,000. These include cases of defamation against the State, the dis - semination of false or malicious news, and a public assembly that threatens state security. These settlements do not appear to have been con - tingent on the implementation of compliance improve -
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