Law firms in the UAE have been fined and suspended from practice for failing to comply with government anti-money laundering procedures.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi Al Dhaheri, Minister of Justice, said 200 law firms in the UAE were suspended from practicing for one month, and will have the suspension lifted once they fulfil their obligations.

A further seven law firms were fined AED 100,000.

Al Badi was speaking at a higher committee meeting overseeing national strategy on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism, held virtually, which also heard from Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh,  Minister of State, who said that earlier this year, the Cabinet issued Resolution No. 74 for 2020.

The resolution concerns the lists of terrorists and implementation of UN Security Council decisions relating to preventing and countering financing terrorism and leveraging non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, he said.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

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