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 Anti-Money 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.

The DFSA now assumes responsibility for, and becomes the single AML/CFT regulator of, all AML/CFT supervision and enforcement in the DIFC. Previously DNFBPs were supervised for AML/CFT compliance by the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA).

Cooperation

Abdullah Mohammad Al Awar, Chief Executive Officer of DIFCA, said: "This move further portrays the co-operation between DIFC bodies to ensure that the highest standards of compliance are achieved."

Accompanying these amendments to the Regulatory Law 2004 is the introduction of a new DFSA rulebook "Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Module", which provides rules and guidance to those firms now falling under the DFSA's supervision.