New legal reforms and strengthened oversight measures have enhanced the UAE’s defences against financial crime.
Abu Dhabi: The National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations (NAMLCFTC) has announced the 2025 performance indicators for the UAE’s national framework on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing. The results were approved by the Higher Committee overseeing the National Strategy on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing at its latest meeting.
The findings highlight the UAE’s continued commitment to a risk-based and sustainable approach to addressing financial threats, strengthening national efforts, improving institutional coordination, and enhancing the framework’s ability to measure impact and continuously refine performance through updated indicators.
Commenting on the results, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE and Chairman of the National Committee, said the progress reflects steady implementation of the National Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter-Proliferation Financing (2024–2027). He added that it reaffirms the UAE’s commitment to a secure and stable global financial environment supported by a robust and agile supervisory framework capable of anticipating risks and effectively combating financial crimes.
He added that the significant improvement in the 2025 performance indicators holds strategic importance, marking the outcome of major legislative and regulatory reforms, particularly the issuance of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025. He said the strengthened legal framework has reinforced governance structures, deepened institutional coordination, and further enhanced the UAE’s financial and economic competitiveness globally.
Balama also extended his appreciation to the members of the National Committee, supervisory authorities, law enforcement bodies, and strategic partners, commending their dedicated efforts and key role in improving performance indicators and achieving qualitative milestones that reflect a unified national approach.
UAE’s commitment to FATF
Hamid Saif Al Zaabi, Secretary-General and Vice Chairman of the National Committee, said the 2025 performance indicators reflect the UAE’s commitment to strengthening its national framework in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and global best practices.
He explained that, as part of international cooperation efforts, the General Secretariat—working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—has continued to expand coordination with international partners on combating money laundering and terrorist financing. In 2025, it held 15 National Expert Team meetings with several FATF member countries, supporting technical knowledge exchange, risk-based collaboration, and the sharing of best practices, while also expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation against financial crime.
He added that these outcomes highlight stronger national coordination among relevant authorities and the growing impact of international partnerships in addressing cross-border financial crimes. The UAE, he noted, continues to enhance institutional readiness, strengthen supervisory and financial investigation capabilities, and make greater use of data and statistical tools to support decision-making and measure real impact.
The UAE’s performance indicators also show its growing role as a trusted global partner in 2025, with a significant rise in requests received through judicial cooperation, law enforcement, and financial intelligence channels.
Incoming mutual legal assistance requests rose by 4.9%, increasing from 492 to 516 cases, while extradition requests climbed by 25.3%, from 446 to 559. Requests for information handled by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) also rose by 20.7%, reaching 1,522 compared to 1,261 previously. Precautionary freezing orders increased by 46.7%, from 15 to 22, and the value of frozen assets doubled to AED 150 million.
Supervision of financial institutions
In the supervision of financial institutions, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), authorities carried out 781 inspections of financial institutions and VASPs, imposing fines totaling AED 384 million. Suspicious transaction reports (STRs) rose by 28% to around 80,000, with banks accounting for 82.2% of these filings. At the DNFBP level, nearly 8,900 inspections were conducted, resulting in fines of AED 160.33 million.
Beneficial ownership transparency
The UAE made significant progress in strengthening beneficial ownership compliance, achieving a 91.7% improvement compared to the previous year. Only 336 legal entities were found without beneficial ownership information, down from 4,038 in 2024. Risk-based inspections rose by 54.2%, from 155,000 to 239,000, while inquiries related to beneficial ownership increased by 43.3% to 3,300, with 68.9% coming from law enforcement agencies and 30.6% from the FIU.
Financial intelligence, investigations, and asset recovery
In this area, financial intelligence packages disseminated surged by 83.7%, from 233 to 428, while the number of reports within these packages increased by 155.1%, from 1,492 to 3,806. Suspicious transaction reports rose by 20.8%, from 54,000 to 66,000, and law enforcement cases increased by 45.8%, from 646 to 942. The value of domestic confiscations reached AED 4.23 billion, alongside AED 750 million returned to victims.
In combating terrorist financing, suspicious reports related to terrorist financing rose by 62%, increasing from 158 to 256 cases. Authorities also launched 56 terrorist financing investigations, with 85.7% involving natural persons.
The 2025 performance indicators offer a comprehensive, data-driven evaluation of the UAE’s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing framework, based on inputs from competent authorities, supervisory bodies, and the Financial Intelligence Unit. The findings underscore the continued maturation and progress of the national system across key areas, including international cooperation, regulatory supervision, beneficial ownership transparency, financial intelligence, asset recovery, and counter-terrorism and proliferation financing efforts.
