Money Laundering: UAE Launches Third National Risk Assessment

The General Secretariat of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Committee announced the launch of the third round of the National Risk Assessment in the UAE, with the participation of 84 competent authorities and the private sector, with the aim of updating the national understanding of risks, setting priorities for addressing them, and developing policies and procedures that enhance the efficiency of the national system.

This came during a media briefing held by the General Secretariat on the sidelines of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, attended by a number of heads of the National Committee’s sub-committees and heads of the third National Risk Assessment teams.

His Excellency Hamid Saif Al Zaabi, Secretary-General and Vice Chairman of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Committee, affirmed that the National Risk Assessment forms a basis for formulating policies and setting priorities in confronting financial crime. He said the third round builds on cumulative national expertise and progress in data quality and inter-agency coordination, enabling a deeper understanding of risks and directing efforts and resources towards the areas of highest risk and impact.

He added that the assessment’s outputs support supervisory authorities in developing risk-based supervision plans, help law-enforcement agencies direct their capabilities, and enable the private sector to update its institutional assessments and internal controls, stressing that an accurate understanding of risks strengthens the country’s ability to protect market integrity and support the competitiveness of the national economy.

His Excellency Dr Talal Al Teneiji, Director of the Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation and head of the Proliferation Financing Assessment Team, explained that the team’s role within the third round of the National Risk Assessment is to collect and analyse information from government and supervisory authorities and the private sector, in order to identify the threats and vulnerabilities linked to proliferation financing, including the risks of non-implementation or evasion of targeted financial sanctions.

He noted that these sanctions target specific persons and entities and include freezing their funds and assets without delay and preventing funds or economic resources from being made available to them, directly or indirectly.

He added that funds linked to proliferation financing may come from legitimate sources, while risks may emerge in commercial transactions, dual-use goods, corporate structures, intermediaries and attempts to conceal the true parties.

He said the team works with the competent authorities to build a shared national understanding of these risks and to use the assessment’s results to set priorities, develop preventive and supervisory measures, and guide the relevant entities in updating their assessments and controls according to a risk-based approach. The results are expected to support the consistent application of targeted financial sanctions, improve the detection of evasion indicators through the analysis of transactions and links between parties, and enhance the timely exchange of information among supervisory authorities, law-enforcement agencies and the private sector.

His Excellency Brigadier Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ahmad, Director-General of the Federal Criminal Police and head of the Money Laundering Threats Assessment Team, affirmed that the third National Risk Assessment covers 21 predicate offences and more than 20 criminal patterns, with the aim of building a comprehensive understanding of the sources of illicit proceeds and the methods used to conceal, move or integrate them into the economy. He noted that assessing money laundering risks does not rely on the number of cases alone, but also takes into account the volume of proceeds, the link between offences and organised crime, their degree of complexity, international connections and their impact on society and the economy.

He pointed out that the Money Laundering Threats Assessment Team coordinates, collects and analyses data and statistics from the relevant authorities, drawing on data on predicate offences, money laundering offences, their patterns and methods, and the sources of illicit proceeds, to enhance the accuracy and integration of data and support the identification of the nature of threats and their risk levels.

He affirmed that the assessment’s results will contribute to identifying, tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscating the proceeds of crime, and to directing human, material and technical resources according to the level of risk.

Dr Ibrahim Al Alkeem Al Zaabi, Director of the National Policies and Risks Department at the General Secretariat, said: “The assessment methodology combines operational data, supervisory expertise and sectoral analysis, and relies on verifying the results and comparing them across multiple sources. The participation of the competent authorities and the private sector makes it possible to build an integrated picture of risks and to identify data gaps and areas requiring in-depth analysis, leading to results that support decision-making and the development of the national response.”

He explained that the assessment proceeds through five interconnected stages, beginning with defining the scope and initial priorities, followed by collecting data and evidence, analysing risks, and verifying the results and comparing them across sources, and ending with turning the results, priority risks and material data gaps into inputs for the 2028 National Strategy and the National Action Plan.

Fawzia Al Ali, Head of the National Risks Section at the General Secretariat, noted that the assessment covers licensed, unlicensed and emerging activities, exposure to illicit financial flows and cross-border flows, asset recovery, beneficial ownership transparency, and the misuse of legal persons and legal arrangements. It also addresses fraud patterns linked to modern technologies, virtual assets, the complexity of ownership chains, new financing channels, and proliferation financing risks.

She stressed the integrated roles of federal and local authorities, supervisory authorities, law-enforcement agencies, the Financial Intelligence Unit, customs authorities and registration and licensing authorities, alongside the private sector’s contribution through questionnaires, interviews and sectoral data, in carrying out the assessment.

The third round builds on the results of the two previous rounds: the first round, completed in 2018, established the national baseline for understanding risks, while the second round, whose results were approved in 2024, broadened the scope of data and participation, and its outputs contributed to the preparation of the National Strategy for 2024–2027, which comprises 11 strategic objectives, 50 sub-objectives and more than 250 initiatives.

The media briefing reviewed the scope, methodology and implementation stages of the third round, the roles of the participating entities, and the key targeted outputs to strengthen the national system’s ability to detect, analyse and respond to risks.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)