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Regulatory updates

Ministry of Economy — AML/CFT & Commercial Supervision: latest updates.

New rules, circulars, consultations and notices from UAE regulators, each summarised with who is affected and what to do. Collected by Arakan Lexara from the regulators' own websites.

Arakan Lexara Weekly

The week's changes, what they mean and the deadlines ahead. Every Monday, free.

4 Aug 2026Press ReleaseLow impact
Ministry of Economy and Tourism Organizes a Workshop to Enhance Electronic Connectivity Between National Economic Registry 'Growth' and Licensing Authorities
MOET convened licensing authorities (economic development departments and free zones) to improve electronic data connectivity with the National Economic Registry ('Growth'), the federal system underpinning trade-license issuance and company data-sharing across emirates. Relevant to regulated businesses' license renewal and registry-data accuracy obligations, though no new binding rule was announced in this release.
29 Jul 2026Press ReleaseLow impact
Economic Integration Committee Reviews Measures to Strengthen Corporate Governance and UAE's Anti-Money Laundering Legislative Framework
The Economic Integration Committee, chaired by Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, reviewed ongoing strengthening of the UAE's AML/CFT legislative framework and corporate-governance initiatives, including an 'AI-powered regulatory ecosystem' for economic legislation and finance-lease regulation for non-Central-Bank-regulated entities. Signals continued regulatory tightening ahead but this specific announcement introduced no new binding instrument.

Updates are found automatically on regulators' websites and summarised by AI. Check the official source before relying on any item.

Past weekly briefings

15 Jun 2026

Cabinet Decision

Low impact

Cabinet Resolution No. (142) of 2026 Concerning the Definition of 'One Family' for the Purposes of Family Companies

Confirmed via MOET's own 'Legislations' and 'Companies' Legislations' pages as defining 'one family' for purposes of family-company status/registration, relevant to family-owned regulated businesses' eligibility for family-company treatment under the Family Businesses Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022). LOW-CONFIDENCE DATE: the precise publication date could not be independently confirmed from a primary or dated secondary source within available research; the date shown is an estimate based on its position among other 2026 MOET decisions and must be verified against the Official Gazette / moet.gov.ae before compliance use.

3 Jun 2026Ministerial DecisionMedium impact

Ministerial Decision No. (117) of 2026 on Standards, Controls and Accreditation Requirements for Valuers of In-Kind Contributions

Establishes a mandatory central register of MOET-accredited valuers for non-cash (in-kind) capital contributions to UAE companies, requiring compliance with International Valuation Standards/RICS Red Book, conflict-of-interest bans, a 3-month data-currency limit and 6-month report validity, plus a 1-year transitional period for existing valuers — operationalising the in-kind contribution provisions introduced by the 2025 Commercial Companies Law amendment (MOE-2025-003).

20 Apr 2026Cabinet DecisionMedium impact

Cabinet Decision No. (59) of 2026 on the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2023 Regulating Competition

Long-anticipated executive regulations for the Competition Law, replacing 2012-era rules, take effect 30 July 2026. They tighten merger-filing formalities (proof of fee payment, original-language documents), set formal 10+90 working-day merger review timelines, clarify dominant-position assessment criteria, and introduce a 15-working-day third-party objection window. Relevant to any MOET-regulated business undertaking M&A, joint ventures, or holding a dominant market position in the UAE.

20 Apr 2026GuidanceMedium impact

Supplemental Guidance for Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSP) — 2026 Edition

Updated sector-specific AML/CFT/CPF guidance for trust and company service providers covering customer due diligence, beneficial ownership verification, ongoing monitoring and suspicious activity reporting obligations specific to entity-formation and administration services. Exact day within April 2026 is estimated from the document's stated version date.

15 Apr 2026GuidanceMedium impact

Supplemental Guidance for Independent Accountants & Auditors (IAA) — 2026 Edition

Updated sector-specific AML/CFT/CPF guidance for independent accountants and auditors, developed from the 2024 National Risk Assessment and MOET's 2024 Sectoral Risk Assessment, refreshing risk-based CDD and reporting expectations for sole practitioners and firms. Exact day within April 2026 is estimated from the document's stated version date.

9 Apr 2026Ministerial DecisionMedium impact

Ministerial Decision No. (83) of 2026 Concerning the Amendment of the Restriction Period for the Transfer of Shares of a Private Joint Stock Company or Exemption Therefrom

Implements the 2025 CCL amendment reducing (and allowing exemption from) the lock-up period restricting transfer of private joint stock company shares, from the prior two years to one year, giving PJSC shareholders and investors more flexibility. Relevant to corporate service providers structuring PJSC transactions. Publication date is estimated from the PDF's document metadata timestamp and should be checked against the Official Gazette.

15 Mar 2026GuidanceMedium impact

Supplemental Guidance for Dealers in Precious Metals & Stones (DPMS) — 2026 Edition

MOET replaced its 2021 sector guidance for precious-metals/stones dealers with an updated version reflecting current ML/TF/PF risk factors (cash intensity, portability, cross-border trade), the AED 55,000 DPMS reporting threshold, five-year record retention, and sanctions-screening obligations. Exact publication day within March 2026 is an estimate based on the document's stated version date.

11 Mar 2026CircularMedium impact

Circular No. (1) of 2026 on Updating the Lists of High-Risk Countries, Countries Subject to Increased Monitoring, and Related Measures

First 2026 update to the FATF high-risk/increased-monitoring jurisdictions list requiring DNFBPs to refresh CDD/EDD screening against the revised country lists.

6 Jan 2026Press ReleaseMedium impact

Ministry of Economy and Tourism Reviews New Amendments to the Commercial Companies Law and Their Pivotal Role in Enhancing Competitiveness of the UAE's Business Environment

Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri led a media briefing detailing the 15 articles amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2025 (MOE-2025-003), including multi-class shares, cross-emirate/free-zone company transfer without liquidation, and the reduced one-year lock-up for private JSC shares. An informational briefing rather than a new legal instrument, but signals MOET's implementation priorities for the 2025 CCL reform.

25 Dec 2025CircularMedium impact

Circular No. (8) of 2025 on Updating the Lists of High-Risk Countries, Countries Subject to Increased Monitoring, and Related Measures

Routine but mandatory update to the FATF high-risk and increased-monitoring jurisdiction lists that DNFBPs (real estate, precious metals, accountants/auditors, corporate service providers) must apply in customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence screening.

19 Dec 2025CircularHigh impact

Circular No. (7) of 2025 Regarding the Re-Imposition of United Nations Sanctions on Iran

MOET directed all supervised DNFBPs to update sanctions-screening systems, re-screen all existing customers/counterparties, apply asset-freezing measures, and report matches via goAML to the Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation, following the UN Security Council's re-imposition of sanctions on Iran under Resolution 1737 (2006) and successor resolutions. Immediate action required from real estate, precious-metals, accounting/audit and corporate-service DNFBPs.

14 Nov 2025Cabinet DecisionHigh impact

Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 on the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 on AML/CFT/CPF

Executive regulations implementing the new AML law took effect 14 December 2025, replacing Cabinet Resolution No. 10 of 2019. Key changes for DNFBPs include formal recognition of commercial gaming operators as a new DNFBP category, an online-transaction reporting threshold of AED 11,000, and explicit senior-management sign-off requirements for AML policies and high-risk relationships. The confirmed date is the 14 December 2025 effective date; the publication/gazettal date shown (14 November 2025) is an estimate and should be verified against the Official Gazette.

1 Oct 2025Regulation AmendmentHigh impact

Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2025 Amending Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 Concerning Commercial Companies

A major overhaul of the UAE Commercial Companies Law introducing multiple share classes, in-kind capital contributions, drag-along/tag-along shareholder rights, cross-emirate/free-zone re-domiciliation preserving legal identity, a reduced one-year (from two-year) lock-up for private JSC shares, and a new not-for-profit company structure. Implementation is phased over an estimated 12-24 months via follow-on ministerial/cabinet decisions (see MOE-2026-004 and MOE-2026-008 below). Issuance date sourced from secondary legal commentary as MOET's own laws page does not show a specific day.

30 Sept 2025Regulation AmendmentHigh impact

Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 on Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Proliferation

The UAE replaced its 2018 AML law with a new federal decree-law that formally criminalises proliferation financing, lowers the evidentiary threshold for money laundering from 'actual knowledge' to 'sufficient/circumstantial evidence', doubles maximum corporate fines to AED 100 million, and introduces mandatory licensing/registration (Article 20) for DNFBPs and VASPs. This is primary federal legislation rather than a MOET decision, but it directly reshapes the AML/CFT obligations MOET supervises for DNFBPs.

15 Sept 2025GuidanceHigh impact

Countering Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing: Guidelines for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (Revised Guidelines V2)

MOET (the Ministry's current official name is 'Ministry of Economy and Tourism', confirmed via moet.gov.ae) issued a revised (V2) edition of its core AML/CFT/CPF guidelines for the four DNFBP sectors it supervises (real estate agents/brokers, dealers in precious metals & stones, independent accountants/auditors, and trust & corporate service providers), incorporating findings from the UAE's 2024 National Risk Assessment. Regulated DNFBPs should update compliance manuals, risk assessments and CDD procedures. The document is dated only 'September 2025'; the exact day of publication could not be confirmed and is estimated here.