CBUAE imposes financial penalty of AED200,000,000 on a branch of a foreign bank licensed in the UAE

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) imposed a financial penalty of AED200,000,000 (Two hundred million UAE Dirhams) on a branch of a foreign bank licensed in the UAE, pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Decree Law Regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities.

The financial penalty is based on the results of the findings of examinations conducted by the CBUAE, which revealed that the branch of the foreign bank had significant, repeated failures in its Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations, Governance and Compliance Management and Sanctions Framework.

The CBUAE further imposed an individual penalty of 500,000 on the Chief Executive Officer, and an individual penalty of AED300,000 on the Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Decree Law Regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and its amendments, due to their failure to fulfil their responsibilities and positions’ functions.

The CBUAE also required the foreign Bank to implement a Mandatory Remediation Programme under independent validation and a Fit and Proper re-assessment of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer.

The CBUAE, through its supervisory and regulatory mandates, endeavours to ensure that all banks, their authorised decision makers and their employees adhere to UAE laws, as well as the regulations and standards established by the CBUAE to safeguard the transparency and integrity of the banking sector and the UAE financial system.