AML Compliance Officer

As per the UAE Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Law, Financial Institutions and Designated Non-Financial Business Professionals (DNFBPs) must appoint an AML Compliance Officer. The role of such an employee is to comply with the AML laws- Federal Decree-law No. (20) of 2018 and combating the financing of terrorism. 

The legal person or entity appoints the AML Compliance Officer role. They are natural persons appointed and should have the requisite experience and skills to implement a robust AML compliance process. The AML Compliance Officer carries on the duties on behalf of the legal person or entity who provides all the required data to the legal person or entity, follows the procedures as per the AML laws, and helps prevent money laundering activities. The AML Compliance Officer should carry on the duties with utmost competence to help businesses comply with the AML laws.

Responsibilities of an AML Compliance Officer under the UAE AML Laws

Section 8, Article 21, states the responsibilities of a Compliance Officer are:

- Detect transactions in Financial Crimes

- The Compliance Officer needs to review and evaluate data of suspicious accounts that might be concealing money laundering. The Officers can report the data to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) depending on the case. The transaction might be continued, and they need to state the reasons for their research. They need to collaborate with the supervisory authority and FIU to provide all the relevant data.

- The AML Compliance Officer reviews the internal rules and processes to prevent financial crimes. He also needs to update the relevant authorities and comply with the latest rules and regulations.

- The AML Compliance Officer has to submit the reports on the rules to the concerned authority.

- To conduct AML training for the employees and make them aware of the AML rules and regulations and train them on the best industry practices. Training is imparted to employees to understand money laundering methods and implement the right processes to prevent money laundering and financial terrorism.

The Compliance Officer’s duties can be categorized into two parts - Duties to the employer and responsibilities to the Government.