The Central Bank of the UAE has issued new guidelines to help financial institutions combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

It says Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs) including lenders are obliged to develop internal policies, controls and procedures to manage risks linked to money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

LFIs must also put in place indicators to identify suspicious transactions and activities and file reports to the UAE’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the banking regulator said in a statement.

“As we continue to enhance the effectiveness of AML/CFT measures to safeguard the UAE financial system, we expect licensed financial institutions to fulfil their duties as well,” Khaled Balama, governor of the CBUAE, said.

LFIs have also been asked to regularly screen their databases and transactions against names on lists issued by the UN Security Council and its relevant committees or by the UAE Cabinet before conducting any transaction or entering a business relationship with any client, whether it is individual or corporate.

The updated guidelines came into effect on Monday, September 13th, according to the regulator and LFIs have been given a month to comply.