Obligations

What UAE AML/CFT compliance requires in practice

The obligations below are common across UAE supervisors. VerifiX implements each one as a configurable control with an evidence trail, so compliance work leaves a record.

01

Customer due diligence

Identify and verify every customer and beneficial owner before the business relationship starts, and re-verify when risk or circumstances change.

02

Sanctions and PEP screening

Screen customers, owners, and counterparties against sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media sources, with ongoing re-screening as lists change.

03

Risk-based approach

Classify customers by risk and apply simplified or enhanced due diligence accordingly, with the rationale recorded for each decision.

04

Transaction monitoring

Monitor activity for unusual patterns, escalate alerts to a case, and document the outcome of each investigation.

05

Record keeping

Retain identity evidence, screening results, and decision trails so a supervisor or auditor can reconstruct any decision later.

06

Governance and reporting

Assign MLRO ownership, keep four-eyes approvals on high-risk cases, and produce the reporting your supervisor expects.

By supervisor

Mapped to your regulator, not a generic template

Preset journeys exist for the UAE supervisors below. Other GCC supervisors are configured on request.

CBUAE

Banks, exchange houses, finance companies, insurers, and payment providers licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE.

VARA

Virtual asset service providers licensed in Dubai, exchanges, custodians, brokers, and transfer services.

CMA

Capital market participants, brokerages, investment firms, and asset managers.

DFSA

Firms authorized in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

FSRA

Firms authorized in Abu Dhabi Global Market, including virtual asset activity.

Full journey detail per regulator is on Why VerifiX.

How it runs

From license requirement to exportable evidence

01

1

Pick your regulator journey

Start from a preset journey for CBUAE, VARA, CMA, DFSA, or FSRA instead of building policy logic from scratch. Journeys are configurable, not hard-coded.

02

2

Verify identity and entities

KYC for individuals, KYB with beneficial-owner discovery for entities, and enhanced due diligence routing where risk requires it.

03

3

Screen and score

Sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media screening feed a weighted risk score with an explainable breakdown per customer.

04

4

Monitor and investigate

Transaction and wallet monitoring raises alerts into case management, where analysts work them with notes, attachments, and approvals.

05

5

Export the evidence

Every decision, screening hit, and approval is retained and exportable per customer on request, so audit and supervisory questions have an answer.

FAQ

UAE AML questions we get asked

Who has AML obligations in the UAE?

Financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions, including banks, exchange houses, insurers, capital market firms, virtual asset service providers, real estate brokers, dealers in precious metals and stones, and legal and accounting professionals, carry customer due diligence, screening, monitoring, record keeping, and reporting obligations under their supervisor's rules.

Does VerifiX cover the Travel Rule?

Yes. Originator and beneficiary information is collected and exchanged for virtual asset transfers at or above the AED 3,500 threshold, with counterparty exchange through Notabene and TRP. See the Travel Rule module.

Where is the data hosted?

VerifiX runs on UAE-region infrastructure with AWS and Azure, and ITSEC is certified to ISO 27001 and ISO 22301. Read the security overview.

How is the platform priced?

Pricing is quoted per deployment based on modules and volume, call for pricing. See how packaging works.

Anti-money laundering compliance for UAE regulated entities