Beware: You can be guilty of money laundering if you do this in the UAE

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Public Prosecution on Friday issued a clarification on money laundering, saying any person having the knowledge that any funds are the proceeds of a felony or misdemeanour and wilfully carries out certain acts, will be considered a perpetrator of a money laundering crime.

In a tweet issued today, it said the wilful acts include the following: Transferring or moving proceeds or conducting any transaction with the aim of concealing or disguising their illegal source; concealing or disguising the true nature, source or location of the proceeds as well as the method involving their disposition, movement, ownership of or rights with respect to the proceeds; acquiring, possessing or using proceeds upon receipt; and assisting the perpetrator of the predicate offence to escape punishment.

Reiterating the provisions of Article (2) of the Federal Decree Law No. 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism  and Financing of Illegal Organisations, it said, “The crime of money laundering is considered as an independent  crime. The punishment of the perpetrator  for the prdicate offence  shall not prevent his punishment for the crime of money laundering.”

It said that proving the illicit source of the proceeds  should not constitute a pre-requisite to sentencing the perpetrator of the predicate offence.