UAE Central Bank Fines Reach Dh222.92 Million in 2026, All on Foreign Bank Branches

The regulator announced six penalties between January and October, Emirates 24|7 reported. Three were on institutions and three on individual officials. All involved branches of foreign banks or their staff. The central bank has not named any of the banks.

The Largest Case

The Dh200 million penalty was announced on October 30. According to The National, it followed investigations that found "significant and repeated failures" in the branch's anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, governance, compliance management and sanctions frameworks.

Two officials were fined personally. The branch's chief executive paid Dh500,000, and its head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer paid Dh300,000. The regulator said both had failed to fulfil their responsibilities. The central bank also ordered a mandatory corrective action plan and an independent review of the branch. It will reassess whether the chief executive and the compliance officer are still fit for their roles. The penalties were imposed under the federal decree law that governs the central bank and financial institutions.

Earlier Penalties This Year

In a statement dated June 24, the central bank said it had fined a different foreign bank branch Dh20 million over anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and sanctions failures. That branch's head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer was fined Dh300,000.

In July, the regulator fined another foreign bank branch Dh1.82 million, The National reported. The branch had failed to issue a customer's liability letter within the required seven days, which broke the central bank's market conduct and consumer protection rules.

These six penalties add up to the Dh222.92 million total reported by Emirates 24|7.

What It Signals

The October fine equals the Dh200 million penalty the central bank imposed on an exchange house for anti-money laundering failures in May 2025, Gulf News reported at the time. It is ten times the June fine.

For banks and financial firms in the UAE, this year's cases show the regulator acting on several fronts. It has fined institutions, fined senior executives personally, and required remediation that is checked by an independent reviewer. Most of the money relates to financial crime controls, but the July case shows that consumer protection breaches are also being penalised.