AML regulations in the Gulf region have strengthened considerably over recent years, shaped by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, closer international scrutiny, and the region’s expanding role in global financial flows.

By 2025, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) jurisdictions have made tangible progress in enhancing their Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) frameworks. Regulatory focus, however, has moved beyond aligning laws with global standards. Supervisors are now paying closer attention to how AML controls function in practice — particularly in areas such as cross-border activity, higher-risk industries, and complex ownership arrangements.

A Regional View of AML Regulation Across the Gulf

Although each GCC country operates its own regulatory regime, several common themes are now clearly visible across the region:

  • Consistent alignment with FATF recommendations
  • Increased use of risk-based supervisory approaches
  • Heightened scrutiny of higher-risk customers and sectors
  • More frequent enforcement and supervisory action
  • Stronger expectations around governance, accountability, and audit trails

Together, these trends are influencing how organisations design, implement, and evidence AML programmes throughout the Gulf.

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Key AML Developments by Jurisdiction

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The UAE has continued to enhance its AML framework through more active supervision, targeted enforcement, and improved coordination across financial and non-financial sectors.

Current regulatory priorities include:

  • Greater transparency around beneficial ownership
  • Strengthened sanctions compliance requirements
  • Increased supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs)
  • Clearer expectations for risk-based customer due diligence

These reforms have raised the compliance bar for organisations operating both onshore and within free zones.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia maintains a well-established AML regime overseen by multiple authorities, with particular focus on financial institutions, remittance providers, and digital channels.

Supervisory priorities include:

  • More sophisticated transaction monitoring expectations
  • Stronger suspicious transaction reporting standards
  • Increased on-site inspections and reviews
  • Enforcement action where governance failures are identified

Regulators increasingly expect clear accountability at both senior management and board level.

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Qatar

Qatar continues to refine its AML/CTF framework in line with international expectations, particularly for banks and state-linked entities.

Key areas of development include:

  • Improved coordination between supervisory authorities
  • Enhanced reporting and record-keeping obligations
  • Greater attention to correspondent banking risks
  • Ongoing alignment with FATF guidance

Bahrain

Bahrain’s AML framework remains closely aligned with global standards and is supported by active supervision from the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Regulatory focus areas include:

  • FinTech and digital financial services
  • Continuous customer due diligence requirements
  • Effectiveness of sanctions screening controls
  • Management of outsourcing and third-party risk

Kuwait and Oman

Kuwait and Oman have continued to strengthen their legislative and supervisory frameworks, with increasing emphasis on implementation quality.

Common developments include:

  • Updated AML laws and regulatory guidance
  • Greater supervisory engagement
  • Stronger focus on controls testing and effectiveness
  • Enhanced cooperation with international authorities

Shared AML Expectations Across the Gulf Region

Despite local differences, AML regulations in the Gulf region are increasingly aligned around several core expectations:

1. Risk-Based Customer Due Diligence

Organisations must demonstrate that customer risk assessments are accurate, well documented, and reviewed regularly.

2. Effective Transaction Monitoring

Transaction monitoring frameworks should reflect current products, customers, and geographic exposure — rather than relying on static or outdated rules.

3. Sanctions Screening

Regulators expect timely and accurate screening against relevant sanctions lists, supported by clear escalation and remediation processes.

4. Governance and Accountability

Board oversight, senior management responsibility, and well-defined escalation pathways are now central supervisory concerns.

5. Auditability

Compliance decisions, alerts, and remediation actions must be traceable and capable of being clearly explained during supervisory reviews.

What This Means for AML Compliance in 2026

Looking ahead, regulatory trends across the Gulf suggest that supervisors will continue to:

  • Take enforcement action where deficiencies persist
  • Expect quicker and more effective remediation
  • Prioritise operational effectiveness over policy volume
  • Apply consistent AML standards across traditional finance and FinTech
  • Strengthen regional and cross-border regulatory cooperation

For organisations operating across the Gulf, fragmented or inconsistent AML controls are likely to attract increasing scrutiny.

AML Readiness Checklist for Gulf Operations

Area Key question
Customer due diligence Are customer risk ratings accurate and regularly refreshed?
Beneficial ownership Can ownership structures be reliably identified and verified?
Transaction monitoring Are monitoring scenarios aligned with regional risk exposure?
Sanctions screening Are screening processes timely and consistently applied?
Governance Is accountability clearly defined and documented?
Audit trails Can decisions be explained to supervisors if required?

Conclusion

AML regulations in the Gulf region have reached a more mature stage, but regulatory expectations continue to rise. By 2025, the emphasis has shifted firmly from legislative alignment to how effectively AML controls operate day to day.

As organisations prepare for 2026, those with consistent, risk-based, and well-governed AML frameworks will be best placed to meet supervisory expectations across the region.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What do AML regulations in the Gulf region cover?

They cover the laws, regulations, and supervisory frameworks implemented across GCC countries to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing, and related financial crime.

2. Are AML requirements the same across all Gulf countries?

No. While core principles are aligned, detailed requirements, reporting obligations, and enforcement approaches vary by jurisdiction and regulator.

3. What AML obligations apply to businesses operating in the Gulf?

Common obligations include customer due diligence, beneficial ownership verification, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, suspicious activity reporting, and governance oversight.

4. How do regulators assess AML effectiveness?

Regulators assess whether controls work in practice by reviewing risk assessments, monitoring systems, reporting quality, governance structures, and remediation outcomes.

5. Do AML regulations apply to FinTech and digital financial services?

Yes. FinTech firms, payment providers, digital banks, and virtual asset service providers are all subject to AML obligations across the Gulf region.

6. What should organisations focus on for 2026 readiness?

Key priorities include consistent controls across jurisdictions, regular testing of transaction monitoring systems, clear senior management accountability, timely remediation, and strong auditability.