UAE Central Bank fines foreign bank branch Dh200 million

The penalty is the largest imposed on a bank this year, matching a previous fine on an exchange house.

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has levied a substantial financial penalty of Dh200 million on a branch of a foreign bank operating in the UAE. This action, announced on 30 October 2026, follows examinations by the CBUAE that uncovered significant and repeated failures in the branch’s anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) frameworks. The penalties were imposed under the Federal decree law concerning the Central Bank and the organization of financial institutions and activities.

In addition to the hefty fine on the bank, the CBUAE imposed individual penalties of Dh500,000 on the bank’s CEO and Dh300,000 on its Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. The regulator has mandated the foreign bank to implement a remediation programme under independent validation and to reassess the fitness and propriety of its CEO and chief compliance officer.

The Dh200 million penalty is the largest imposed on a bank this year, equalling the fine levied on an exchange house in May 2025. Earlier this year, on 24 June, the CBUAE fined another foreign bank branch Dh20 million for similar AML and CFT failures, along with a Dh300,000 penalty on its Head of Compliance.

In July, a separate foreign bank branch was fined Dh1.82 million for a consumer protection breach, unrelated to AML charges, due to its failure to issue a liability letter within the mandated period.

The CBUAE’s updated guidelines, issued on 16 April, align with the Financial Action Task Force standards and the UAE’s National AML/CFT Strategy 2024 to 2027. These guidelines require banks to assess risks, conduct due diligence, and maintain comprehensive records to ensure compliance with AML and CFT regulations.

Source: https://gulfnews.com/business/banking/foreign-bank-branch-in-uae-fined-dh200-million-1.500729648