UAE regulation — ADGM & DIFC
Free-zone firms,FSRA & DFSA ready.
Firms in Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Dubai International Financial Centre answer to the FSRA and DFSA. We build the KYC, KYB and review evidence their rules expect.
Who this covers
- FSRA-regulated firms in ADGM — asset managers, banks, advisers
- DFSA-regulated firms in DIFC — banks, wealth managers, insurers
- Fund managers and fintechs licensed in either centre
- Corporate service providers supporting free-zone entities
What we deliver
Practical support against each requirement.
KYC & KYB files
Complete onboarding files for individuals and corporates, aligned to free-zone expectations on identity, structure and source of funds.
UBO resolution
Unpicking cross-border and layered ownership structures to identify ultimate beneficial owners, with documented evidence.
Sanctions & PEP screening
Screening of customers, investors and counterparties against global lists, with ongoing monitoring between reviews.
Periodic review cycles
Scheduled refresh of customer files with evidence retention, so nothing goes stale between audits.
Counterparty due diligence
Enhanced reports on higher-risk investors, intermediaries and jurisdictions.
Training with tracked completion
Compliance training for your teams with completion records you can show the regulator.
FAQs
Common questions.
Do the FSRA and DFSA have the same AML requirements as onshore UAE?
ADGM and DIFC operate their own rulebooks, administered by the FSRA and DFSA respectively, alongside federal AML legislation. The practical effect is similar — robust KYC, screening and record-keeping — but the detail differs, and your compliance programme should map to your own regulator's rules.
Can you verify beneficial owners in complex structures?
Yes. Our investigations team traces layered and cross-border ownership using registry data, corporate filings and open-source research, and documents each step so the conclusion is defensible.
How do you handle periodic reviews?
We can run scheduled re-screening and file refresh programmes, flag material changes, and retain the evidence of each review cycle for your audit trail.
We are a small fintech — is this proportionate for us?
Yes. We scope the screening and due-diligence workload to your licence type and customer base, so a lean team gets exactly the coverage its regulator expects without unnecessary overhead.
This page describes the services ICG MECOS provides to regulated businesses. It is not legal advice, and it does not reproduce or summarise UAE law — always refer to the published requirements of your supervisor.
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