Anti-money laundering role moved to DFSA

Dubai Dubai’s financial regulator has had its remit extended to make it responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced yesterday that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has enacted amendments to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Law No 1 of 2004 (Regulatory Law 2004) under which the regulation of DIFC AntiMoney Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) requirements for Designated Non-financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) in the DIFC is transferred to the DFSA.

Th e DF S A n ow a s - sumes responsibility for, and becomes t he si ngle AML/CFT reg ul ator of, all AML/CFT supervision and enforcement i n t he DIFC. Previously DNFBPs were s upervised fo r AML/CFT compliance by t he Dubai I nternational Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA).

Cooperation

Abdul l a h Mohammad Al Awar, Chief Executive Off i cer of DIFCA, sai d: “This move f urther port r ays t h e c o - o p e r a t i o n between DIFC bodies to ensure t hat t he highest standards of compliance are achieved.”

Acco mpa ny i n g t h e s e amendments to the Regulatory Law 2004 is the introduction of a new DFSA r u l e b o o k “D e s i g n a t e d Non-financial Businesses and Professions Module”, which provides rules and guidance to those f irms now falling under the DFSA’S supervision.