This week, the FCN is chronicling the progress that has been made in the UAE not just to get off the FATF Grey list but to make a sizeable step change in understanding and reacting to the threats faced in a whole of government approach with the private sector also upping their game too. This effort is being led by the Executive Office for AML/CTF and the Director General Hamid Al Zaabi who deserves great credit along with the many that have dedicated themselves to these efforts.

Today financial crime news is publishing a 2 page updated financial crime dashboard for the UAE which allows direct comparisons against the many dashboards already produced for the USA, UK, France, Hong Kong, China, Canada etc.

In addition in order to look more deeply, FCN is making its deeper analysis freely available in a 28 page assessment which looks at the development of KPIs against each of the 11 FATF Immediate Outcomes, in some cases going back a decade to see the journey the UAE has been on, where they were at the time of the FATF 2020 Report and where they have improved since. As with everywhere else their is more to do, including publishing the in progress NRA, and implementing a tactical information sharing initiative. There are evolving threats too, including not least in the sanctions, TF, and VC space, but the gains that have been made can only rebalance the net risk of the UAE to a better place. Expect the UAE to persuade FATF by early next year that it doesn’t belong on the grey list, and to still continue to sustain its improved performance, not least in international Co operation, money laundering investigations, prosecutions and convictions, asset seizures and confiscations, as well improvements in supervison and private sector preventative measures. 

For a copy and to download the UAE Financial Crime Country Dashboard (Oct 2023) see HERE: FCN UAE Dash Oct 2023Pbd