Arab News reported on 1 February that 11 banks in UAE have been fined at least USD 12.4 million for their lack of compliance on rules concerning money laundering and the terrorism financing.
The fine imposed by the Central Bank of the UAE on 24 January was in accordance to Article 14 of the Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations.
It was further reported that UAE banks have been given time to rectify any compliance-related issues with regards to the AML/CFT law by the end of 2019 and that any failure to do so beyond 2019 would be penalized.
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