On February 23, 2024, the UAE was officially removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” list, often referred to as the “grey list.” This development came after the UAE’s initial inclusion on the list on March 4, 2022, marking a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to enhance its financial oversight and combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

FATF “grey list” to “green list”

Since being listed on the FATF’s grey list, the UAE has undertaken significant reforms to bolster its financial regulatory framework:

– Founded the Executive Office to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

– Established a specialist court dedicated to addressing money laundering and financial crimes.

– Introduced new Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) guidelines for financial and certain non-financial businesses.

– Enacted a new Penal Code to strengthen laws against money laundering, bribery, and corruption.

The results from the FATF Plenary session are available for review on official web:

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-february-2024