Can a business lose its licence for AML non-compliance in the UAE?

UAE
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Yes. UAE supervisory authorities have a graduated set of administrative penalties they can impose on financial institutions, DNFBPs, virtual asset service providers and non-profit organisations that breach the AML law, its Executive Regulations or related decisions. Revocation of the licence sits at the most severe end of that scale.

Under Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, the supervisory authority may issue a warning, impose an administrative fine of between AED 10,000 and AED 5,000,000 per violation, prohibit the violator from working in the relevant sector, restrict or suspend the powers of board members and senior managers, suspend or restrict the activity, and ultimately revoke the licence. Fines can be increased for a repeat of the same violation within one year, and the authority may publish the penalties imposed. Licence revocation is usually reserved for serious or persistent failures, but it is a real possibility, which is why a documented, tested compliance programme matters.

Legal Reference (UAE):

For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.

Consequences for non-compliance with UAE AML regulations

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Yes. Revocation of the licence is one of the administrative penalties a supervisory authority may impose for violating the AML law, its Executive Regulations, or decisions issued under them.

Licence revocation sits at the end of a graduated scale. Before it the authority may issue a warning, fine between AED 10,000 and AED 5,000,000 per violation, ban the violator from the sector, restrict or suspend the powers of responsible board members and executives, or suspend the activity altogether. A separate route to closure exists in the criminal courts: on conviction of a legal person for terrorist financing or proliferation financing the court must order dissolution and closure of the premises, and it may do so for money laundering.

Legal Reference (UAE):

· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 17(1)(g): revocation of the licence as an administrative penalty, within the graduated scale in Article 17(1).

· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 27(3) and (4): mandatory dissolution on conviction for terrorist or proliferation financing, discretionary for money laundering.

For your own circumstances, check your internal AML policy or speak to your compliance officer.

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