Abu Dhabi:The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has imposed a substantial financial penalty of AED200,000,000 on a branch of a foreign bank operating within the UAE. This action is in accordance with the Federal Decree Law concerning the Central Bank and the Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities.
According to Wam, the penalty follows the results of examinations conducted by the CBUAE, which unveiled significant and repeated failures by the bank branch in adhering to Anti-money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations, Governance, Compliance Management, and Sanctions Framework.
Additionally, the CBUAE has levied an individual penalty of AED500,000 on the bank's Chief Executive Officer and AED300,000 on the Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. These penalties were issued under the same Federal Decree Law due to their failure to meet their responsibilities and obligations in their respective roles.
The foreign bank is also required to implement a Mandatory Remediation Programme under independent validation and undergo a Fit and Proper re-assessment of both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer.
The CBUAE emphasizes its commitment through supervisory and regulatory efforts to ensure that all banks, their decision-makers, and employees strictly observe UAE laws, alongside the regulations and standards set by the CBUAE, to maintain the transparency and integrity of the banking sector and the UAE financial system.