UAE Central Bank cancels licences of money exchange house and commercial broker company

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) on Wednesday said it revoked the licence of Dirham Exchange, a money exchange house operating in the UAE, and struck off its name from the Register for serious violations of the regulatory laws.

The regulator said it also revoked the registration of RMB Commercial Brokers Co, which operates in the country.

The Central Bank added that the administrative sanctions followed an appeals procedure, pursuant to Article 137 of the Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank & Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities and Article 14 of the Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Combating Money Laundering (AML) Crimes, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Illegal Organisations.

The administrative sanctions were imposed after Central Bank detected serious regulatory misconduct, including anti-money laundering and collusion in evading Central Bank's instructions to the exchange house not to engage in remittance transactions with certain countries.

"The findings showed that they had a weak compliance framework and failed to comply with their regulatory obligations and to report regulatory breaches to the CBUAE," said the Central Bank.

The Central Bank said it ensures that all exchange houses, their owners and employees, and Hawaladars abide by the UAE laws, regulations and standards to safeguard the transparency and integrity of the UAE financial system.

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