The UAE has reported significant progress in its 2025 anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and counter-proliferation framework, as announced by the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations (NAMLCFTC).The 2025 performance indicators reflect the success of the National Strategy (2024–2027) and the impact of the newly introduced Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025. Key highlights include:
Global Cooperation:The UAE strengthened its international standing, with mutual legal assistance requests rising by 4.9% and extradition requests increasing by 25.3%.
Supervisory Actions: Authorities conducted 781 inspections of financial institutions and virtual asset service providers, issuing fines totaling AED 384 million.
Asset Recovery & Intelligence: Financial intelligence dissemination surged by 83.7%. Domestic asset confiscations reached AED 4.23 billion, with AED 750 million returned to victims.
Beneficial Ownership: Compliance with beneficial ownership transparency requirements saw a 91.7% improvement compared to the previous year.
Terrorism Financing: Suspicious reports related to terrorist financing increased by 62%, supported by 56 active investigations.
Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, noted that these results demonstrate the country’s commitment to a robust, agile supervisory framework. The report underscores the UAE’s focus on institutional integration and data-driven decision-making to combat financial crimes effectively.