The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) imposed a financial sanction on a bank operating in the UAE. The decision is pursuant to its law on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations.
The CBUAE has fined the bank Dh5 million, and directed the bank to present the Central Bank's action to the board of directors of the overseas headquarters.
The CBUAE, through its supervisory and regulatory mandates, works to ensure that all banks, their owners and staff abide by the UAE laws, regulations and standards adopted by the CBUAE to safeguard the transparency and integrity of the banking industry and the UAE financial system.
The move comes a month after the UAE Central Bank imposes financial sanctions on another bank over illegal financing policies, then imposing a fine of Dh5.8 million on the bank. The authority did not name the banks in both cases.
The Central Bank had imposed administrative sanctions on eight banks operating in the UAE last year, pursuant to its law regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and the Central Bank notices regarding the beneficiaries of the Nationals Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund (NDDSF) facilities.
The administrative sanctions take into account the banks’ failures to comply with the CBUAE’s instructions not to grant any loans or credit facilities to the beneficiaries of loans granted by the NDDSF, including credit cards.
Recently, the CBUAE has allowed licensed entities ample time to align their processes with compliance requirements. The latest enforcement measures signal a shift towards stricter regulatory oversight in the UAE’s banking sector.
