Don’t remit money through these exchange houses
dubai — The UAE Central Bank on Monday downgraded the licences of a few currency exchange houses and asked residents to avoid sending remittances through them for violating regulations.
The seven companies which were downgraded include Taher Exchange Est., Al Hadha Exchange, Al Hemriya Exchange, Dubai Express Exchange, Sanaa Exchange, Cosmos Exchange and Bin Bakheet Exchange Est.
“The above exchange houses are prohibited from conducting any activities relating to remittances or payment of wages. This decision comes after the failure of these exchange houses to regularise their status during the grace period granted by the Central Bank,” the Central Bank said in a statement on Monday.
The exchange houses had violated anti-money laundering regulations too, the apex bank said. The companies can now only deal in sale and purchase of foreign currencies and travellers’ cheques.
With Eid Al Fitr approaching in the UAE, the remittance outflow will pick up substantially in the coming days. In 2017, expat remittances amounted to Dh164.3 billion as compared to Dh160.8 billion in the previous year, an increase of 2.2 per cent.
A number of companies in the UAE pay wages to their blue-collar workers through currency exchange houses.
This decision comes after the failure of these exchange houses to regularise their status during the grace period granted by the Central Bank
UAE Central Bank
The Foreign Exchange and Remittances Group (FERG), a consortium of businesses engaged in the foreign exchange and remittance industry, issued an update on the anti-money laundering manual in January this year.
According to the FERG, there has been a 90 per cent drop in crimes in banks and money exchange houses last year compared to 2016 due to awareness sessions and security initiatives.
The group said it always stressed the importance of cooperation between authorities and employees of exchange houses in creating a more secure environment. It had also hosted a training workshop with the Dubai Police for employees of over 75 exchange houses to avoid deception or forgery.
The industry body said that preparing the staff of financial institutions in the UAE is the first line of defence against financial crimes, with intelligence and smart solutions to anticipate and prevent the crimes before they occur.