CISI UAE FRR Financial Crime & AML/CFT UAE 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are the three stages of money laundering?
- Placement, layering, and integration (Correct answer)
- Detection, reporting, and prosecution
- Identification, verification, and monitoring
- Suspicion, investigation, and freezing
Correct answer: Placement, layering, and integration
Money laundering proceeds through placement (introducing illicit funds into the financial system), layering (obscuring the trail through complex transactions), and integration (reintroducing funds as legitimate).
Question 2: In the UAE, the financing of terrorism is criminalised under:
- Federal Decree-Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combating Terrorism (Correct answer)
- Federal Law No. 14 of 2018
- CBUAE Circular No. 24/2000
- Cabinet Resolution No. 10 of 2019
Correct answer: Federal Decree-Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combating Terrorism
Federal Decree-Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combating Terrorism criminalises the financing of terrorism in the UAE, establishing offences, penalties, and the legal framework for asset freezing.
Question 3: What is 'structuring' in the context of UAE AML regulations?
- Breaking up large cash transactions to avoid reporting thresholds (Correct answer)
- Organising a bank's compliance department
- Structuring loan repayment schedules
- Designing investment portfolios
Correct answer: Breaking up large cash transactions to avoid reporting thresholds
Structuring (also called smurfing) involves deliberately splitting large transactions into smaller amounts to avoid currency transaction reporting thresholds, and is itself an AML offence in the UAE.
Question 4: Under UAE AML laws, the maximum prison sentence for a money laundering conviction is:
- 10 years (Correct answer)
- 2 years
- Life imprisonment
- 5 years
Correct answer: 10 years
Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and substantial fines for money laundering offences, with enhanced penalties for aggravated cases.
Question 5: Which UAE body coordinates the national strategy to combat money laundering and terrorism financing?
- National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (NAMLCFTC) (Correct answer)
- Central Bank of the UAE
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Abu Dhabi Executive Council
Correct answer: National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (NAMLCFTC)
The NAMLCFTC coordinates the UAE's national AML/CFT strategy, bringing together relevant ministries, regulators, and law enforcement to implement a unified approach to financial crime prevention.
Question 6: What does the UAE's 'goAML' system facilitate?
- Electronic submission of Suspicious Transaction Reports to the UAEFIU (Correct answer)
- Online banking for government employees
- Automated anti-money laundering transaction monitoring
- Licensing applications to the CBUAE
Correct answer: Electronic submission of Suspicious Transaction Reports to the UAEFIU
goAML is the UNOG-developed platform adopted by the UAE FIUS for receiving electronic STR/SAR filings from reporting entities, enabling efficient collection and analysis of financial intelligence.
CISI UAE FRR Financial Crime & AML/CFT UAE 1
What are the three stages of money laundering?