Central Bank imposes hefty sanctions on six exchanges

The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed sanctions on six exchange houses for violating Anti-Money Laundering rules. The penalties also come under the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations Law.

The sanctions imposed on September 14 amounted to Dh17.31 million.

The fine relates to the exchange houses’ failures to achieve appropriate levels of compliance regarding their AML and Sanctions Compliance Frameworks by the deadline set at the end of 2019.

Ample time allowed

All exchange houses operating in the UAE have been allowed ample time to remedy any shortcomings, and were instructed in the middle of 2019 to ensure compliance by the end of that year.

“The CBUAE will continue to work closely with all financial institutions in the UAE to achieve and maintain high levels compliance and will continue to impose further administrative and/or financial sanctions, as per the law, in cases of non-compliance,” CBUAE said in a statement.