UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stuart Paterson, Janine Mallis and Tania Forichon, Herbert Smith Freehills (Dubai)
Introduction In 2024, the UAE’s efforts to combat fraud and financial crime continued apace. Following the March 2024 removal of the UAE from the Finan - cial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey” list, a list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism measures, the UAE has continued to demonstrate that it prioritises combatting finan - cial crime and fraud. It also released an updated national strategy for 2024-2027 to combat mon - ey laundering, terrorism financing and prolifera - tion financing, emphasising combating cyber - crime and addressing issues with virtual assets. This update will affect both UAE businesses and international businesses that are present in the UAE. The UAE has already started strengthen - ing whistle-blowing protection, which is criti - cal to one of the key objectives of the updated strategy: strengthening the ability to detect and investigate financial crime. In addition to developments at a national strate - gic level, the DIFC Court’s approach to assisting claimants in pursuing fraud claims and regula - tory enhancements in the high-risk environment of virtual asset trading has been significant. Changes to the money-laundering landscape In 2024, two significant changes occurred to the UAE’s money-laundering landscape. First, some provisions in the country’s key AML legislation were amended to establish new committees responsible for the oversight of AML and CFT, including the Supreme Committee (formerly the Higher Committee) responsible for implementing the National Strategy (discussed below). A new General Secretariat to the National Committee was also established. These structural changes are indicative of the UAE’s approach to prioritise AML compliance.
Secondly, in September 2024, the UAE unveiled its updated national strategy for anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and proliferation financing for 2024 to 2027 (the “National Strategy” ) aimed at protecting the UAE’s financial ecosystem. The National Strategy was developed based on results from a recently completed National Risk Assessment undertaken by the UAE. This com - prehensive strategy is built around 11 strategic goals, each supported by specific legislative actions and regulatory reforms, including: • improved international cooperation and coordination to improve information exchange between regulatory bodies; • strengthening the detection and investiga - tion of financial crime through, for instance, improvements in training and technology; and • increased collaboration between government agencies and private sector entities to ensure comprehensive implementation of AML/CFT measures. These developments have put AML at the fore - front of the UAE’s agenda. While they do not alter the compliance requirements for compa - nies, businesses should expect to see increased regulatory interest as the UAE wants to demon - strate increasingly proactive and effective AML supervision. Such efforts are unsurprising ahead of the FATF’s upcoming fifth round of mutual evaluations, with the UAE’s evaluation expected to begin in June 2026. Whistle-blower protection There is general acceptance that, despite poten - tial shortcomings, laws that protect whistle- blowers from recrimination, such as termination from employment (and often provide financial incentives), are effective in identifying financial crime since they provide comfort to those con -
419 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook