The UAE's FATF Mutual Evaluation is scheduled for June 2026. This is the international assessment through which the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will determine whether the UAE's AML reforms implemented since its grey list exit in February 2024 have translated into real, measurable enforcement on the ground. The outcome matters for the country's standing as a global financial centre. Which is precisely why the pressure on regulated businesses is intensifying right now.
The FATF does not inspect individual companies. The Ministry of Economy does. And ahead of the evaluation, the MOE has significantly accelerated its inspection programme across all DNFBP sectors: real estate agents, trading companies, dealers in precious metals, and corporate service providers. Since late 2022, regulators have imposed over AED 130 million in administrative fines, with a Ministry of Economy policy note from February 2026 confirming a further tightening of checks and additional enforcement instructions issued in March.
What inspectors check first is the Annual Business Risk Assessment, the formal filing that every DNFBP is required to submit to the Ministry of Economy each year. Think of it as your company's documented proof that you have identified your AML risks, assessed them against your specific activity, and put controls in place. It is not an internal document. It is a regulatory obligation, with a deadline, and its absence or obsolescence is one of the most common violations inspectors record.
Under Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025, the framework for this assessment has been updated and expanded. It now requires companies to integrate Countering Proliferation Financing into their risk evaluation, an obligation that did not exist under the previous 2019 regulations. Businesses still operating on the old format are filing against a standard that no longer applies.
The period leading up to June 2026 should be treated as one of heightened regulatory scrutiny, with inspections more frequent and more detailed than at any previous point.
At B-AML, we prepare and update Annual Business Risk Assessments for DNFBPs across the UAE, fully aligned with the current regulatory framework. If your last assessment was completed before December 2025, it needs to be revisited, before an inspector makes that decision for you.
