GoAML registration and AML compliance
GoAML registration with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit. Who is in scope, how registration works and which ongoing duties follow from it.
Certain professions and businesses in the UAE must register in the Financial Intelligence Unit reporting system GoAML and report suspicious transactions. Real estate, precious metals, audit and corporate service providers are the main groups in scope. We handle registration and set the ongoing duties up so they are workable day to day.
Who has to register with GoAML?
The duty does not apply to every company, it applies to specific activities. These include real estate transactions, dealing in precious metals and stones, audit and accounting, and corporate and trust service provision.
Whether your licence falls in scope depends on the activities recorded on it, not on your own assessment. We check that against the licence rather than against a rule of thumb.
What happens after registration?
Registration creates ongoing duties. The central one is reporting suspicious transactions, alongside internal measures such as identifying business partners and keeping documentation.
- Registration in the authority reporting system
- Internal processes to identify business partners
- Documentation and record retention
- Reporting suspicious transactions through the system
- Naming the responsible person inside the company
Why should this not be postponed?
Registration is backed by fines, and unlike some tax duties there is no quiet tolerance here. There is also a practical angle: banks ask for registration status as part of their own checks. A missing entry can block account opening and disrupt existing banking relationships.
Frequently asked questions
What is GoAML?
GoAML is the reporting system of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit for suspected money laundering and terrorist financing. Businesses in scope must register there and report suspicious transactions through it.
How do I know whether my company is in scope?
What matters are the activities recorded on your licence. Certain activities trigger the duty, others do not. We check against the licence, because a wrong self assessment gets expensive here.
What happens if I fail to register?
Failure is backed by fines. On top of that a missing entry can surface during bank checks and cause delays or problems with your business account.
Is registration alone enough?
No. Registration is the start. Ongoing duties follow, in particular identifying business partners, keeping documentation and reporting suspicious transactions. We set these processes up so they are workable in daily practice.
Keep reading: UAE GoAML and AML compliance for DNFBPs ·UAE UBO declaration and registration ·The cost of non-compliance for a UAE business