- The United Arab Emirates came under strict scrutiny in 2022.
- The FATF no longer considers the UAE to be at risk of illicit money flows.
- “Investors…may feel safer,” one expert says of the delisting.
DUBAI/PARIS: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from its “grey list”, making it a victory for the country seeking to bolster its international status. News reported on Saturday.
Following its delisting, the United Arab Emirates, which is home to a glittering financial centre, Dubai, is now among the countries no longer on the global watchdog's list of countries at risk of illicit money flows.
The FATF gray list comprises around two dozen countries that are currently considered risky for their failure to combat financial crime. The Gulf nation, which remains a magnet for millionaires, bankers and hedge funds, was placed under strict scrutiny in 2022.
The country's exclusion from the list is a blow to what was once a regional pearl and fish trading center and is now one of the world's richest nations after the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi at the end of the decade. from 1950.
It had made getting off the list a priority, bolstering its anti-money laundering efforts in a campaign led by Foreign Minister and brother of the president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
John Kartonchik, director of the United Arab Emirates think tank Re/think, said the move could boost confidence in the country and attract more money from abroad.
“Investors…can feel more secure,” he said.
Banks could also reduce the cost of dealing with wealthy clients in the country, said a senior banker, who asked not to be named. Despite being on the gray list, the UAE continued to attract the world's wealthy and is an increasingly popular destination for cryptocurrency companies and Russians following the war with Ukraine.
Dubai's luxury property market will fall behind only New York, Los Angeles and London in 2022, according to property consultant Knight Frank, while last year the United Arab Emirates overtook Belgium to become the world's center for retail trade. Rough diamonds. Jonny Bell, head of financial crime compliance and payments at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said the UAE would likely continue to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.
There is increasing competition among Gulf states to develop non-oil sectors such as financial services, trade and logistics, and tourism. Attracting money from abroad is a central part of that effort.
Measures taken by the UAE include increasing financial investigations and prosecutions, boosting international cooperation, and aligning virtual asset regulation with international standards.
