UAE central bank issues new anti-money laundering guidance for cryptocurrencies

The United Arab Emirates central bank said on Wednesday, May 31, that it has published new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing instructions for financial institutions to follow when dealing with virtual assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The new guideline addresses the risks that might be incurred when interacting with virtual assets and the service providers for those assets, according to a Reuters report on May 31 which referenced the statement.

In particular, these risks include due diligence requirements for licensed financial institutions when interacting with virtual asset consumers and counterparties.

Within a month, the regulations will be binding on financial institutions such as banks and finance firms as well as exchange houses, payment service providers, licensed hawala providers, and insurance agencies and brokers.

The guidance set by the FATF

The bank said that the guideline takes into consideration the requirements established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In March of 2022, the UAE was placed on a list of countries that are subject to heightened scrutiny by the FATF. This list is known as its “grey” list. In response, the UAE said that it was dedicated to actively cooperating with FATF in order to make improvements.