The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed a AED200 million fine on a UAE branch of a foreign bank over significant and repeated failures in its anti-money laundering controls, the regulator said on Friday.
The central bank did not name the bank.
The penalty followed examinations by the central bank. They found failures in the branch’s framework for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and illegal organizations, as well as in its governance, compliance management and sanctions framework.
The fine was imposed under the federal decree law governing the central bank and the organization of financial institutions and activities.
Penalties for executives
The regulator also fined the branch’s chief executive officer AED500,000.
It fined the head of compliance, who also serves as money laundering reporting officer, AED300,000, Gulf News reported.
The bank must carry out a mandatory remediation program under independent validation.
The central bank also ordered a fit and proper reassessment of the chief executive and the chief compliance officer.
Earlier penalties
The central bank fined a foreign bank AED20 million in June for breaching money laundering rules, The National reported at the time.
The regulator said it acts to make sure banks, their authorized decision makers and employees comply with UAE laws and its own regulations and standards, to protect the transparency and integrity of the banking sector and the financial system.
