UAE Central Bank Fines Foreign Bank Dh200m and Penalises Senior Executives

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has imposed a financial penalty of Dhs200 million on the UAE branch of a foreign bank, Gulf Business reported citing the banking regulator. The enforcement measure was issued pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Decree Law Regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities, as amended.

According to the CBUAE, supervisory examinations revealed significant and repeated failures in the foreign bank branch's Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations (AML/CFT) framework, governance and compliance management, and sanctions controls. The central bank did not publicly identify the name of the penalized institution.

Alongside the Dhs200 million institutional penalty, the CBUAE announced individual financial penalties against two senior executives for failing to fulfil their professional functions and responsibilities. The branch's Chief Executive Officer was fined Dhs500,000, while the Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) received an individual fine of Dhs300,000.

The regulator also instructed the foreign bank to execute a Mandatory Remediation Programme subject to independent validation. In addition, the CBUAE ordered a Fit and Proper re-assessment of both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer.

The Central Bank reiterated that its regulatory mandate aims to ensure that all licensed banks, authorized decision-makers, and staff strictly adhere to UAE laws and standards to protect the integrity and transparency of the UAE financial sector.