The guidance is part of the rapidly evolving rules on anti-money laundering and aims to promote UAE as a jurisdiction compliant with best practices.

By Brian Meenagh, Ksenia Koroleva, and Matthew Rodwell

On August 1, 2022, the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) issued the Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on the Risks Relating to Payments.[1]

The guidance was issued to implement the requirements of Federal Decree Law No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations. It sets out the CBUAE’s expectations as to the appropriate compliance measures to be adopted within payments ecosystems. The guidance is not intended to amend or replace existing CBUAE requirements and should be read in conjunction with the CBUAE’s existing rules[2] and guidance materials[3].

Understanding bankruptcy laws in the UAE and DIFC in the context of COVID-19-related financial pressures.

By Nomaan A. Raja and Aly Kassam

COVID-19 has already caused wide-scale disruption to numerous industries both locally and globally. Whilst efforts are underway to stop the spread and impact of COVID-19, the financial and social impact of the virus will be felt for many months to come. As companies come to terms with working from home arrangements and the new landscape in which they

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This is the first in a series of articles considering legal issues relating to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the UAE. In this article we focus on the legal status of bitcoin and address the question of whether bitcoin is banned in the UAE. In part two we will consider the case for regulating bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and in part three we will consider legal issues relating to the adoption of blockchain technology by public and private entities in the

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New Regulations balance innovation in the payments sector with safety, security and maintaining the public’s trust in the UAE payment ecosystem.

After a long period of consultation, on 1 January 2017 the Central Bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued the Regulatory Framework for Stored Values and Electronic Payment Systems (Electronic Payment Regulation). The Electronic Payment Regulation’s key message is that all eligible participating institutions (whether they are banks, payment networks, telecommunications companies, government

Egypt Electricity In 2015, Egypt issued its unified Electricity Law no. (87), paving the way for market liberalisation of its power generation and distribution services. A few months on from its introduction, what are some of the key takeaways?

The Electricity Law has promised to reform the electricity market and allow for private sector participation (both locals and foreign entities) by introducing a simple licensing regime. With a transitional timeframe of 8 years granted, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), which

Mall financingThe continuing strong economic conditions of the UAE and other GCC economies has led to an upsurge in consumer spending in recent years. With retail sales in the region expected to reach US$284.5 billion by 2018, the need to meet the growing demand for consumer goods has led to a boom in planned shopping mall developments in the Middle East.

Dubai might be the world’s most visited retail destination thanks to The Dubai Mall, which attracted nearly

The Abu Dhabi Global Market, Abu Dhabi’s new financial free zone, located on Al Maryah Island, recently issued a first wave of draft regulations and related consultation papers.

The Global Market’s general approach in the draft regulations follows very closely the  English law model. In particular, the Global Market is proposing to apply English common law and certain English statutes in the Global Market. No draft financial services regulation was included in the first wave of regulation.

The virtual currency market has emerged in the United Arab Emirates with Dubai’s first Bitcoin ATM introduced in April 2014. Middle East entrepreneurs have begun launching Bitcoin payment products and SMEs are beginning to realise the potential of such technology, with The Pizza Guys becoming the first restaurant in the UAE to accept Bitcoin payments.

Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, combine financial and technological instruments and incorporate characteristics of money, accounting, networks and remittances into one concept. As this

The European Union (EU) enacted Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (the Regulation), which contains ‘Stage 3’ sanctions against Russia. These sanctions resemble – but in other ways are different – from the latest US sanctions, and they amount to the stiffest anti-Russian actions taken by Europe since the end of the Cold War. Perhaps most significantly, the EU’s new sanctions are targeting sectors in Russia’s economy which are not directly connected to events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, as