Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 comes into full force on January 1, 2026, radically strengthening the requirements of KYC and AML.:
- Banks are required to confirm their real economic presence (Economic Substance),
- obtain transparent data on the final beneficiaries (UBO) in real time
- and conduct in-depth verification of the source of funds, especially for
- high-risk sectors (crypto, gold, real estate).
From now on, the Central Bank of the UAE acts as a mega—regulator, and banks are jointly and severally
responsible for customer violations - which makes compliance not an option, but
a condition for business survival.