A snapshot of the UAE’s approach to AI in AML regulation in 2024

2024 Index score: 7.48/10

Index score between 0-10, with a lower score reflecting a more efficient and innovative regulatory approach.

The Index combines four weighted factors – AML attitude, AI/AML regulation, total compliance cost, and AML effectiveness – into a single overall score (lower is better) that captures each country’s balance between AML efforts and results, along with the potential improvement enabled by AI.

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Built on data science principles, the Index is not just another survey. It provides a comprehensive insight into the impact of AI on anti-money laundering. The Index ranks 40 global markets based on their effectiveness in financial crime compliance.  

Read the insights: Napier AI / AML Index.  

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Much like its Gulf counterparts, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) takes a business-friendly approach to AI regulation, aimed at attracting foreign work and investment in the market. To bolster this further, in April 2022, the UAE launched its ‘UAE Digital Economy Strategy’ with the aim of diversifying and doubling its gross domestic product (GDP) from 9.7% in 2022 to 19.4% within ten years.  

A series of non-mandatory guidelines has been published in the market, aiming to promote its technological innovation. The UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 aims to accelerate AI adoption. And the UAE’s Ministry of AI has published a number of documents, including ‘AI Ethics: Principles and Guidelines’, which emphasises the importance of fairness, transparency and human-centric AI.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s recent removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list marks a major milestone in the country’s ongoing efforts to enhance UAE AML. This achievement reflects strengthened oversight, improved reporting standards, and a growing emphasis on technology-driven compliance.

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Across the UAE’s financial sector, artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into AML operations. Financial institutions are deploying AI tools for real-time transaction monitoring, anomaly detection, and risk scoring, helping to identify suspicious behavior more efficiently than traditional rule-based systems. Machine learning models are also being used to automate customer due diligence (CDD), enhance name screening accuracy, and reduce false positives, allowing compliance teams to focus on higher-risk cases.

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The spend on UAE AML and financial crime compliance is low compared to the amount of GDP lost to financial crime, resulting in a high index score in comparison to other markets in this report. The country’s regulator has put the right steps in motion to foster innovation, the next step will be for financial institutions to follow.

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Photo by Joshua Fernandes on Unsplash