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Banks will be required to develop internal
procedures and put in place indicators to identify suspicious
transactions and report them to the central bank's Financial
Intelligence Unit, the bank said in a statement.
They will also need to regularly screen their databases and
transactions against names on lists issued by the United Nations
Security Council or by the UAE government before conducting
deals or entering into a business relationship with individual
and corporate clients.
They have one month from Tuesday to demonstrate compliance with
the central bank's requirements, the central bank said.
"The guidance aims to promote the understanding and effective
implementation by licensed financial institutions of their
statutory anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of
terrorism obligations", it said.
In February the UAE government created an Executive Office for
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing and last
month Dubai set up a money laundering court.
The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental anti-money
laundering monitor, said last year that "fundamental and major
improvements" were needed to avoid it placing the UAE on its
"grey list" of countries under increased monitoring.
The country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing corporate
tax havens, according to a study earlier this year by the Tax
Justice Network, documenting countries that attract companies
seeking to shrink their tax bills.
(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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