When did the new UAE AML law, Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, come into force?
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 was issued on 30 September 2025 and entered into force on 14 October 2025. It repeals and replaces the previous Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018, giving the UAE a single, updated statute covering anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and, for the first time as a standalone framework, counter-proliferation financing.
The most consequential change sits in the definition of the money laundering offence itself. Under the new law, guilt no longer depends on proving that a person had actual knowledge that funds were criminal proceeds. Knowledge may now be inferred from the factual and objective circumstances surrounding the transaction, which lowers the evidentiary threshold for prosecutors. The law also brings digital and virtual assets squarely within scope and treats money laundering as an independent crime that can be prosecuted even without a conviction for the predicate offence.
For regulated businesses, the practical message is to review internal policies, customer due diligence procedures and staff training against the new text rather than the repealed 2018 law.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 2 — defines the money laundering offence and allows knowledge to be inferred from objective circumstances.
For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.