The Middle East has emerged as a growing global financial hub, attracting capital, investment, and innovation across sectors such as oil and gas, real estate, construction, and tourism.
This rapid development has brought new opportunities but also heightened exposure to financial crime. The region has faced headline-grabbing scandals in recent years, including the $3bn NMC Healthcare fraud in the UAE, a $2.5bn tax fraud case in Iraq, and Lebanon’s liquidity crisis.
SymphonyAI, an AI platform for fincrime prevention, recently offered a guide to AML regulations and compliance in the Middle East.
Governments across the region have strengthened anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations in response. For financial institutions, this means operating in a far more complex environment where regulators are demanding robust compliance frameworks, risk-based monitoring, and transparent reporting practices.
Each country has its own regulator and legal framework. Egypt’s EMLCU, established under the Central Bank of Egypt, enforces Law No. 80 of 2002 and requires firms to conduct due diligence, report suspicious activity, and screen transactions.
In the UAE, the Central Bank oversees AML/CFT compliance through Federal Law No. 20 of 2018 and subsequent amendments, mandating risk-based programmes and compliance officers. Qatar’s QFCRA enforces Law No. 20 of 2019, requiring beneficial ownership checks and sanctions screening.
Saudi Arabia operates under the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and its Permanent Committee for Anti-Money Laundering, with rules focused on transaction monitoring and reporting suspicious activity. Oman enforces Royal Decree 30/2016, requiring enhanced due diligence and reporting to the National Center for Financial Information.
Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) enforces Law No. 5549, while a 2023 update has strengthened terrorism financing rules. Iraq enforces its AML/CFT framework through the Central Bank’s dedicated office, and Iran, despite recent reforms, remains on the FATF blacklist due to structural weaknesses.
Across the Middle East, frameworks are aligned with FATF standards through either full membership or MENAFATF participation. Countries like the UAE and Türkiye have recently worked their way off the FATF grey list, but compliance remains a moving target. Firms must balance obligations such as due diligence, sanctions screening, monitoring for politically exposed persons (PEPs), and adverse media checks against the limitations of outdated legacy systems.
Compliance teams face ongoing struggles in operationalising these requirements, SymphonyAI explained. Many institutions remain reliant on patchy systems, manual investigations, and outdated infrastructure that cannot keep up with real-time detection. This results in high false positives, slow investigations, and greater vulnerability at a time when regulators demand speed and transparency.
To address these challenges, modern AI-powered solutions are reshaping compliance. SymphonyAI’s Sensa Risk Intelligence platform offers an AI-native architecture that evolves with regulatory requirements. Features include automated case handling, SAR drafting, multilingual screening, and modular integration that allows firms to modernise at their own pace.
For more insights, read the full story here.
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