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Banking and Insurance
Business Fortune
26 Febuary, 2024
The de-listing is a quick turnaround for the United Arab Emirates
Less than two years after the Gulf state's demotion, the United Arab Emirates was taken off of a worldwide watchdog's "gray list" on Friday, putting an end to local authorities' efforts to stifle illicit cash flows. The Financial Action Task Force, headquartered in Paris, showed how the oil-rich nation had fortified its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism funding regulations. The agency mentioned in a statement, "The UAE is therefore no longer subject to the FATF's increased monitoring process." Mohamed Daoud, Industry Practice Lead at Moody's Analytics, believes that the move may result in more commerce and investment, easier foreign exchange transactions, and reduced interbank fees. "Even so, don't expect the country's interactions with the international compliance community to change overnight."
Kenya and Namibia were added to the FATF's gray list subsequent to its most recent review. The de-listing is a quick turnaround for the United Arab Emirates, which was added to the list of jurisdictions under heightened monitoring in March 2022. At the time, a Bloomberg investigation detailed how some of the wealthiest exiles in the world chose to settle in Dubai. The Wall Street banks, many of which have significant business in the United Arab Emirates, would especially welcome the gray-list withdrawal. Since the designation, they have struggled with rising compliance expenses, which have forced some of them to outsource more work to India.