The Central Bank of UAE has published new guidance on its anti-money laundering and counter- terrorist financing (AML/CFT) rules for licensed exchange houses.
According to a report from state news agency WAM, the changes are designed to assist exchanges’ understanding of risks and their statutory AML/CFT obligations.
The guidance also incorporates Financial Action Task Force standards in order to bring the country’s capital markets into line with international practice.
As part of the changes, exchange houses are expected to conduct a regular risk assessment of their exchanges business that covers all commensurate risks including counterparty and illicit finance risks.
They will also be required to comply with the update within a month.
The move comes three months after the central bank introduced AML rules for hawala transactions, another step taken to align the UAE market with global standards, as issued by the FATF.
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