Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Middle East: 1,929 cases from 40 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
Click a bar to drill down one level.
Where?
by authority- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) €52.4m 100 % · 6 cases
- Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM) €48,213 0 % · 3 cases
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai – 0 % · 2 cases
What for?
by action- Fine €52.5m 100 % · 8 cases
- Other – 0 % · 2 cases
- Order – 0 % · 1 case
Who?
by sectorAll sectors
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | 0 | – |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | – |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | – |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | – |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | – |
| Q1 2025 | 2 | €913,388 |
| Q2 2025 | 2 | €50.8m |
| Q3 2025 | 5 | €715,155 |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | €30,711 |
| Q1 2026 | 0 | – |
| Q2 2026 | 1 | – |
| Q3 2026 | 0 | – |
| Q4 2026 | 0 | – |
11 cases
3 Jun 2026 CoinMENA FZEVARA fines CoinMENA over failings in its anti-money laundering programme Fine
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) had licensed CoinMENA FZE to provide broker-dealer services on 30 November 2023. In ongoing supervisory inspections covering its entire market operations from the outset up to and including the 2025 financial year, VARA found administrative weaknesses in internal systems and controls that led to compliance failures in the company's anti-money laundering programme. VARA imposed a fine, the amount of which was not published.
Even a licensed provider must keep its anti-money laundering programme aligned with its actual operations – the regulator reviews the entire period of operation.
Internal controls in the AML programmes of crypto service providers
- Authority / court
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Mitigating circumstances
- Full cooperation, acceptance of the findings and a coordinated remediation plan.
- Published
- 22 Jun 2026
- VARA: Notice of Fines – CoinMENA FZE (22.06.2026) Press release of an authority
- VARA: Enforcement – Enforcement Actions (Eintrag CoinMENA FZE, 2026/06/03) Enforcement database of an authority
- VARA Notice of Fines – CoinMENA FZE (PDF, von vara.ae verlinkt) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
17 Dec 2025 Payward MENA Holdings LimitedADGM: allegedly 36,000 USD fine for Payward MENA Holdings over five years of late AML returns €30,711
The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the operator of a multilateral trading facility, which also held a custody permission, allegedly 36,000 USD because it did not file its annual AML returns for 2020 to 2024 until 16 December 2025 despite numerous reminders and did not pay the late filing fees of 2,000 USD in total. The regulator also found inadequate systems and controls; in correspondence the firm pointed to internal issues and to the departure of the user registered for the reporting portal. Without the 20% discount for early settlement the fine would have been 45,000 USD.
Regulatory returns need clear ownership and portal access that survives staff changes.
Timely regulatory returns to the supervisor
- Authority / court
- Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Section 232 Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 (FSMR); AML Rule 4.6.1; GEN Rule 2.2.3 (Principle 3); FEES Rule 1.2.7
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Repeat case
- no
- Mitigating circumstances
- Full cooperation, remediation, no previous non-compliance, limited scale of business with few clients and no customer loss identified (10% reduction); 20% discount for early settlement.
Original amount 36,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Dec 2025.
- FSRA Final Notice an Payward MENA Holdings Limited vom 17. Dezember 2025 Decision of an authority
- ADGM FSRA Regulatory Actions and Sanctions (Durchsetzungsliste) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
26 Aug 2025 UHY James Chartered AccountantsADGM: allegedly 20,400 USD fine for audit firm UHY James over unresolved screening alerts €17,502
The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the registered auditor in ADGM, a branch of a foreign company, allegedly 20,400 USD for anti-money laundering failings between February 2022 and February 2024. In seven of 28 customer files reviewed, 397 screening alerts relating to four customers remained unresolved after a change of screening software, positive matches were dismissed without adequate justification, media reports alleging possible evasion of non-UAE sanctions by one customer were missed, the business risk assessment contained no assessment of targeted financial sanctions risk, and the source of funds and wealth of politically exposed persons was not verified. Without the 20% discount for early settlement the fine would have been 25,500 USD.
Screening alerts must be resolved and closed with a documented rationale, especially after a system change.
Name and sanctions screening: resolving and documenting alerts
- Authority / court
- Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Section 232 FSMR 2015; AML Rules 4.1.1(1), 4.1.1(2)(a) und (d), 6.1.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2(1)(a), 7.1.3, 8.3.1(1)(b), 8.3.2, 8.4.1(c), 8.6.1, 11.2.1(1); Art. 21 Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2020
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Other
- Repeat case
- no
- Mitigating circumstances
- No previous breaches of the AML rules, cooperation and substantial remediation (15% reduction); 20% discount for early settlement; the failings concerned only the ADGM entity and no other entities of the UHY group.
Original amount 20,400 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 26 Aug 2025.
- FSRA Final Notice an UHY James Chartered Accountants vom 26. August 2025 Decision of an authority
- ADGM FSRA Regulatory Actions and Sanctions (Durchsetzungsliste) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
18 Aug 2025 Morpheus Software Technology FZE (Fuze)VARA sanctions crypto provider Fuze over AML failings and activity outside its licence Fine
An investigation by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) that began on 15 April 2025 found failures in the anti-money laundering programme, governance, compliance and internal controls of Morpheus Software Technology FZE (Fuze), licensed since October 2023. The company had also intentionally carried out virtual asset activities in breach of its licence conditions and failed to disclose material facts to the regulator. VARA imposed a fine of an undisclosed amount, issued a cease-and-desist order according to its enforcement list, and ordered the appointment of a Skilled Person to oversee remediation.
Licensed providers must stay within the scope of their licence and disclose material facts to the regulator – otherwise fines and external monitoring follow.
AML programme, licence boundaries and disclosure to the regulator
- Authority / court
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Culpability
- intentional
- Mitigating circumstances
- The company accepted the findings and proposed a remediation plan.
- Published
- 18 Aug 2025
- VARA: Notice of Fines – Morpheus Software Technology FZE (18.08.2025) Press release of an authority
- VARA: Enforcement – Enforcement Actions (Eintrag MORPHEUS SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FZE (FUZE), 2025/08/18) Enforcement database of an authority
- VARA Notice of Fines – Morpheus Software Technology FZE (PDF, von vara.ae verlinkt) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
31 Jul 2025 Gomti ExchangeCBUAE revokes Gomti Exchange's licence over AML and sanctions failings Other
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) revoked the licence of the exchange house Gomti Exchange and struck it off the register (Article 137 of Decretal Federal Law No. 14 of 2018). Examinations had found significant failures by the company to comply with the framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations and with the sanctions framework.
For exchange houses, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance are at the core of licence obligations – significant gaps can lead to the loss of authorisation.
AML and sanctions compliance at exchange houses
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities
- Action
- Other
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 31 Jul 2025
- CBUAE: CBUAE revokes licence of Gomti Exchange (Pressemitteilung, PDF, 31.07.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
30 Jul 2025 Al Nahdi ExchangeCBUAE revokes Al Nahdi Exchange's licence over AML and sanctions failings Other
Central Bank examinations found significant failures by the exchange house to comply with the framework for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and illegal organisations and with sanctions requirements. The CBUAE revoked the licence and struck the exchange house off the register.
Where AML and sanctions compliance is seriously deficient, payment service providers face not just a fine but the end of their licence.
AML and sanctions compliance in exchange houses
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities
- Action
- Other
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 30 Jul 2025
- CBUAE: CBUAE revokes licence of Al Nahdi Exchange (Pressemitteilung, PDF, 30.07.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
10 Jul 2025 Bank (anonymisiert)CBUAE: AED 3m on a bank for breaching AML requirements €697,653
Central Bank examinations found that an unnamed bank had not complied with the CBUAE's instructions implementing the anti-money laundering law. The CBUAE imposed a financial sanction of AED 3,000,000.
Supervisory instructions on AML are binding – examinations uncover implementation gaps and lead to financial sanctions.
Implementing supervisory AML instructions in banks
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on AML/CFT; Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 10 Jul 2025
Original amount 3,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Jul 2025.
- CBUAE: CBUAE imposes a financial sanction of AED 3 million on a bank (Pressemitteilung, PDF, 10.07.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
17 Jun 2025 Sundus ExchangeCBUAE revokes Sundus Exchange's licence and fines it AED 10m over AML breaches €2.35m
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) revoked the licence of the exchange house Sundus Exchange, struck it off the register and fined it AED 10 million under Article 14 of the anti-money laundering law (Federal Decree Law No. 20 of 2018). The measures were based on examination findings of failures and breaches of the framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations.
For payment and exchange businesses, anti-money laundering breaches can lead to a fine and loss of licence at the same time.
AML obligations of exchange houses
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 17 Jun 2025
Original amount 10,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Jun 2025.
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
20 May 2025 Wechselstube (anonymisiert)CBUAE fines exchange house AED 200m over serious AML failings €48.4m
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) fined an unnamed exchange house AED 200 million under Article 137 of the central bank law (Decretal Federal Law No. 14 of 2018). CBUAE examinations had found significant failures in the company's framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations.
Weaknesses in an anti-money laundering framework can trigger very large fines.
AML frameworks at exchange houses
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 Regarding the Central Bank and Organization of Financial Institutions and Activities
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Liability of senior managers
- Measures against individuals are not set out here.
- Published
- 20 May 2025
Original amount 200,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 May 2025.
- CBUAE: CBUAE Imposes a financial sanction of AED 200 million on an Exchange House (Pressemitteilung, PDF, 20.05.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
27 Feb 2025 Emirates Advocates LLPADGM: law firm Emirates Advocates loses AML registration after years without AML returns Order
The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) withdrew, with effect from 27 February 2025, the law firm's registration as a designated non-financial business or profession (DNFBP) for anti-money laundering purposes, which it needs to operate in ADGM. The firm had not filed its annual AML returns for 2019 to 2023 and, in the regulator's view, lacked adequate systems and controls; fines had already been imposed in 2021 (10,000 USD for the missing 2019 return) and in 2023 (26,000 USD for the missing goAML registration). The Decision Notice of 21 January 2025 was not referred to the Appeals Panel.
A law firm that persistently ignores its anti-money laundering duties risks not only fines but also its registration, and with it its business in the financial centre.
Anti-money laundering duties for law firms and other DNFBPs
- Authority / court
- Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Section 251 FSMR 2015; AML Rules 4.6.1, 15.2.1(1)(b), 15.7.1(2)(c), 15.7.2(1)(a) und (b)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Other
- Repeat case
- yes
- FSRA Final Notice an Emirates Advocates LLP vom 27. Februar 2025 (Widerruf der DNFBP-Registrierung) Decision of an authority
- ADGM FSRA Regulatory Actions and Sanctions (Durchsetzungsliste) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link
Report an error
19 Feb 2025 Wechselstube (anonymisiert, Sanktion vom 19.02.2025)CBUAE: AED 3.5m on an exchange house for AML breaches €913,388
Following an examination, the Central Bank found that an unnamed exchange house had not complied with its policies and procedures for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The CBUAE imposed a financial sanction of AED 3.5 million.
Exchange houses are under close AML supervision – gaps between policy and practice are punished with sums in the millions.
AML prevention in exchange houses
- Authority / court
- Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
- Area of law
- Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls
- Legal basis
- Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on AML/CFT
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Financial services and insurance
- Published
- 19 Feb 2025
Original amount 3,500,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 19 Feb 2025.
- CBUAE: CBUAE Imposes Financial Sanction on an Exchange House Operating in the UAE (Pressemitteilung, PDF, 19.02.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link