What is the penalty for tipping off about a suspicious transaction report in the UAE?
Tipping off is a criminal offence under the 2025 AML Law. Any person who notifies or warns another, or discloses information about transactions under review for suspicion, or reveals that the competent authorities are conducting inquiries or investigations, in breach of the law’s confidentiality rules, can be punished with imprisonment and a fine of not less than fifty thousand dirhams, or with either of these penalties.
The offence protects the integrity of investigations. If a customer learns that a suspicious transaction report has been filed, they may move assets, destroy evidence or abscond, defeating the purpose of the reporting regime. For this reason, the confidentiality of a report and of any related inquiry is treated as essential.
In practice, compliance officers should restrict knowledge of filed reports to those who need it, avoid hinting to a customer that their activity has been flagged, and train front line staff that questions about account reviews must never be answered in a way that discloses a report. Genuine good faith reporting, by contrast, is legally protected from liability.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 29 punishes tipping off, in breach of the confidentiality required by Article 24, with imprisonment and a fine of not less than AED 50,000
For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.