The National Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Committee issued performance indicators for 2025 that documented broad advances in the national framework for addressing illicit finance. Law enforcement agencies recorded 942 money laundering cases during the period according to the committee marking a 46 percent increase from 646 cases the prior year. Pre-emptive freezing orders rose by 46.7 percent to 22 while the value of frozen assets tripled to AED 150 million equivalent to roughly $40.8 million. These outcomes formed part of a wider push that included new legislation to align with evolving international standards.
Suspicious transaction reports submitted by financial institutions and virtual asset service providers climbed 28 percent to approximately 80,000 the committee reported with banks accounting for 82.2 percent of the filings. The Financial Intelligence Unit saw its own suspicious transaction reports increase 20.8 percent to 66,000 and disseminated 428 intelligence packages representing an 83.7 percent gain. Domestic confiscations totaled AED 4.23 billion while authorities returned AED 750 million directly to victims according to the same figures.
Beneficial ownership compliance improved markedly as the number of legal persons missing such information dropped to 336 from 4,038 in 2024 the committee’s data showed. That shift reflected a 91.7 percent enhancement driven by risk-based inspections that rose 54.2 percent to 239,000. Beneficial ownership enquiries also increased to around 3,300 supporting greater transparency across the corporate sector.
International cooperation expanded during the year with mutual legal assistance requests rising 4.9 percent to 516 and extradition requests growing 25.3 percent to 559 according to the committee. The Financial Intelligence Unit received 1,522 information requests up 20.7 percent from the previous total. The committee coordinated 15 expert meetings with Financial Action Task Force member jurisdictions to exchange best practices and reinforce technical partnerships.
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 updated the legislative foundation to incorporate proliferation financing requirements and strengthen national coordination the report indicated. Supervision efforts encompassed 781 inspections of financial institutions and virtual asset service providers resulting in AED 384 million in penalties. Designated non-financial businesses and professions faced approximately 8,900 inspections with associated fines reaching AED 160 million.
Hamid Saif Al Zaabi secretary-general and vice chair of the committee said the results reflect the UAE’s commitment to continuously improving the effectiveness of the national AML/CFT/CPF system in accordance with FATF standards and international best practices. Khalid Mohammed Balama governor of the Central Bank of the UAE and chair of the committee stated these leading results reflect the UAE’s continued progress in implementing the 2024-2027 National Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing and reaffirm the UAE’s firm commitment to creating a safe and stable global financial environment.
