United Arab Emirates

Since 2001, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken steps to better monitor cash flows through the UAE financial system and to cooperate with international efforts to combat terrorist financing.

The UAE has enacted two laws that serve as the foundation for the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorist financing (CTF) efforts: Law No. 4/2002, the anti-money laundering law, and Law No.1/2004, the counterterrorism law. Law No. 4 of 2002 criminalizes all forms of money laundering activities. On July 29, 2004, the UAE strengthened its legal authority to combat terrorism and terrorist financing, by passing Law No.1/2004 on Combating Terror Crimes.

Law No.1/2004 sets up a National Anti-Terror Committee. The Committee serves as a UAE interagency liaison. Law No.4/2002 provided for the establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Case Unit (AMLSCU), which acts as the financial intelligence unit (FIU) and is housed within the Central Bank (CB). The UAE has also established a national anti-money laundering committee (NAMLC), which is responsible for coordinating anti-money laundering policy.

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Sources

“United Arab Emirates, Anti-money laundering/terrorist financing”.

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, March 2006