Combating money laundering and terrorist financing

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has issued new guidelines aimed at insurers, reinsurers, agents and brokers.

The guidelines, which came into effect on 22 December 2022, are intended to help relevant parties identify risks and implement legal obligations regarding anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

Insurance operators must now:

• carry out, document and maintain a business risk assessment
• conduct customer due diligence
• understand the nature of the customer's business and the purpose of the relationship with the operator
• monitor all customers on an ongoing basis throughout the business relationship
• apply enhanced due diligence measures in the event of an identified high ML/TF risk
• maintain fully equipped monitoring systems
• report suspicions to the relevant authorities

Insurance market players must comply with the new requirements within one month.

The full document is available on the CBUAE website.