The UAE continues to enhance the strength of the national system to combat money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism and the financing of arms proliferation

Abu Dhabi, June 4, 2025 – The National Committee to Counter Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Arms Proliferation announced the details of the performance indicators of the national system in the past year 2025, which were approved by the Supreme Committee for Supervising the National Strategy to Counter Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism during its last meeting yesterday.

The results showed that the country continues its risk- and sustainability-based approach to confronting various financial threats, which enhances the effectiveness of national efforts, consolidates integration, and supports the ability of the national system to measure impact and develop performance according to accurate and updated indicators.

His Excellency Khaled Mohammed Al-Amaa, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and Chairman of the National Committee, said that these pioneering results translate the continued progress in implementing the national strategy to combat money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation (2024-2027), and confirm the UAE’s firm commitment to creating a safe and stable global financial environment, based on a flexible and well-established regulatory system capable of anticipating challenges and confronting financial crimes efficiently and competently.

He added that the qualitative boom in performance indicators for the year 2025 is gaining strategic significance, as it comes as a culmination of the fundamental updates that have occurred in the legislative and regulatory structure, especially with the issuance of Federal Decree Law No. 10 of 2025. This developed legal framework has contributed to strengthening the governance system and consolidating inter-integration, thus raising the status of the UAE and its financial and economic competitiveness.

His Excellency expressed his thanks and appreciation to the members of the National Committee, the regulatory authorities, the law enforcement authorities and the strategic partners, praising their tireless efforts and their pivotal role in improving performance indicators and achieving these qualitative leaps that embody the spirit of the one national team.

For his part, His Excellency Hamid Saif Al Zaabi, Secretary-General and Vice Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Proliferation, stressed that the results of the national system’s performance indicators for the year 2025 reflect the UAE’s commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of its national system, in line with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and international best practices.

He explained that the General Secretariat, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Continue to strengthen channels of communication and cooperation with international partners in the field of combating money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. The General Secretariat of the National Committee held 15 meetings of national expert groups with a number of member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which contributed to enhancing the exchange of technical expertise, developing cooperation based on understanding risks, exchanging best practices, and continuing to expand the scope of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in support of international efforts aimed at combating financial crimes.

He added that the achieved results confirm the development of the level of national coordination among the concerned authorities, and the growing impact of international partnerships in supporting the country’s efforts to confront cross-border financial crimes, noting that the UAE continues to work to enhance institutional readiness, raise the efficiency of financial oversight and investigations, and develop the use of statistical data and indicators to support decision-making and measure the actual impact of the national system.

According to indicators, and at the level of international cooperation, the UAE has strengthened its position as a reliable global partner during the year 2025. Requests for cooperation received through the channels of judicial cooperation, law enforcement, and financial information increased, and requests for mutual legal assistance received increased by 4.9% from 492 requests to 516. Requests for extradition of wanted persons also increased by 25.3% from 446 requests to 559. Requests for information received to the Financial Information Unit recorded an increase of 20.7% from 1,261 requests to 1,522, while precautionary freeze orders increased by 46.7% from 15 orders to 22, with the value of the frozen funds doubling to reach 150 million dirhams.

In the field of oversight of financial institutions, virtual asset service providers, and designated non-financial businesses and professions, 781 inspections were carried out on financial institutions and virtual asset service providers, and fines worth 384 million dirhams were imposed. Suspicious transaction reports also increased by 28% to reach about 80,000 reports, of which banks accounted for 82.2%. While at the level of designated non-financial businesses and professions, about 8,900 inspections were implemented, and fines worth 160.33 were imposed. One million dirhams.

In the field of beneficial ownership transparency, the country has recorded significant progress in enhancing compliance with the requirements for beneficial ownership information. The improvement rate reached 91.7% compared to last year, as the number of legal persons who do not have this data became only 336, compared to 4,038 in 2024. Risk-based inspections also increased by 54.2% from 155,000 to 239,000 operations, and inquiries related to the real beneficiary increased by 43.3% to reach 3,300 inquiries, of which 68.9% were from law enforcement agencies. And 30.6% from the Financial Information Unit.

In the field of financial information, investigations and asset recovery, financial information packages referred increased by 83.7% from 233 to 428 packages, and the number of reports included in these packages increased by 155.1% from 1492 to 3806 reports. Suspicious transaction reports also recorded an increase of 20.8% from 54 thousand to 66 thousand reports, while law enforcement cases increased by 45.8% from 646 to 942. case, and the value of local confiscations amounted to 4.23 billion dirhams, in addition to the return of 750 million dirhams to the victims.

In the field of combating terrorist financing, suspicious reports related to terrorist financing increased by 62% from 158 to 256 reports, and 56 investigations were registered into terrorist financing cases, 85.7% of which were linked to natural persons.

The performance indicators of the national system for the year 2025 provided a comprehensive, data-based assessment of the performance of the UAE system in combating money laundering, financing of terrorism, and financing of proliferation, based on data from the competent authorities, supervisory authorities, and the Financial Information Unit, reflecting the maturity and development of the national system in the areas of international cooperation, oversight, transparency of the true beneficiary, financial information, asset recovery, and combating the financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation.

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