AML & goAML Compliance
UAE anti-money-laundering rules place obligations on designated non-financial businesses and professions — including registration on the goAML platform, customer due diligence, and reporting suspicious transactions.
The businesses caught by these rules are frequently surprised to be in scope. Accountants, auditors, company service providers, real estate agents and dealers in high-value goods can all fall within the designated categories, and the obligations attach to the activity rather than to the size of the firm. Registration is only the entry point: policies, customer due diligence, record keeping, staff training and a named compliance officer all follow.
The reporting obligation is the part most often misunderstood. It is triggered by suspicion, not by proof or by a threshold amount, and the decision not to report is one a business should be able to evidence as readily as a decision to report. That requires a documented process rather than individual judgement exercised in the moment.
We design the AML/CFT framework, put the KYC procedures in place, handle goAML registration, and support suspicious-transaction reporting when it arises.
What this covers
AML/CFT Compliance Advisory
AML/CFT policy frameworks and KYC procedures for regulated businesses.
goAML Registration & Reporting
goAML registration support and suspicious-transaction reporting for regulated businesses.
Common questions
How do we know whether our business is a DNFBP?
Designation follows the activity carried on rather than the licence category alone. Accountants, auditors, corporate service providers, real estate brokers and dealers in precious metals and stones are among the common categories. If your activity involves handling client funds, forming entities or brokering high-value assets, it warrants a review.
What triggers a suspicious transaction report?
Suspicion, not certainty and not a specific amount. If circumstances suggest funds may derive from crime or relate to terrorist financing, the obligation arises regardless of whether the transaction completes.
Do we need a designated compliance officer?
In-scope businesses are expected to have a named individual responsible for AML compliance, with the standing to escalate and report. We help define the role and the reporting lines around it.
Talk to PrimeLedger
Tell us where your business stands and we will set out what applies to you, what has to be filed, and by when.
This page is general information about how the rules work, not advice specific to your business, and it does not state rates, thresholds or deadlines — those change, and your position depends on facts we would need to review. Contact PrimeLedger before acting on anything here.