What is the UAE National Risk Assessment (NRA)?
The National Risk Assessment is the UAE’s country-level study of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks. It identifies the main threats facing the State, the sectors most exposed to abuse, and how effective national controls are at mitigating those risks. The most recent assessment, published in 2024, refreshed the UAE’s understanding of its risk profile and informed more than one hundred national recommendations.
The NRA is not only a government exercise. Financial institutions, DNFBPs and virtual asset service providers are expected to study its findings and reflect them in their own enterprise-wide risk assessments and control frameworks. Supervisory authorities also rely on it to direct oversight towards the highest-risk activities and sectors.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 14(2): the National Committee is competent to identify and assess the risks of the Crime at the national level.
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 (Executive Regulations), Article 5: firms must take the results of the National Risk Assessment into account when assessing their own risks.
For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.