UAE Central Bank imposes Dh20 million fine on branch of foreign bank

Abu Dhabi: The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) imposed a financial penalty of Dh20,000,000 on a branch of a foreign bank, pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Decree Law Regarding the Central Bank and Organization of Financial Institutions and Activities, and its amendments.

The financial penalty is based on the results of the findings of examinations conducted by the CBUAE, which revealed that the branch of the foreign bank had significant, repeated failures in its Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations and Sanctions framework.

The CBUAE further imposed an individual penalty of Dh300,000 on the Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Decree Law Regarding the Central Bank and Organization of Financial Institutions and Activities, and its amendments, due to his failure to fulfil his responsibilities and position functions.

The CBUAE, through its supervisory and regulatory mandates, endeavours to ensure that all banks, its authorized decision makers and its staff abide by the UAE laws, regulations and standards established by the CBUAE to safeguard transparency and integrity of the banking sector and the UAE financial system.