The Abu Dhabi Global Market has published a comprehensive update to its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment for Legal Persons and Arrangements (LPAs), the first revision since the original assessment was issued in March 2024. The update reflects a 72% surge in the number of LPAs operating within ADGM over the two-year period, necessitating a more granular reassessment of financial crime risk across the free zone.
The revised framework incorporates findings from the UAE National Risk Assessment and is designed to provide a jurisdiction-specific understanding of AML/CTF exposure as ADGM grows in scale and complexity. The update forms a core component of ADGM's risk-based regulatory approach, under which the free zone is obligated to identify and assess money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with entities established within its borders.
The revision comes against a regional backdrop that includes FATF's removal of the UAE from its grey list in 2024 and Kuwait's subsequent addition to the list earlier this year.
Gulf Economist Staff Writer