Circular 2/2017 on UAE terrorist list (companies)

CMA Circular No. 2/2017 of 2017 · UAE Federal

Official title
Circular No. (2) of 2017 Concerning the List of Terrorist Individuals and Organizations Approved by the United Arab Emirates and its updates (addressed to companies engaged in the securities and commodities business)
Arabic title
تعميم رقم (2) لسنة 2017 بشأن قائمة الأفراد والتنظيمات الإرهابية المعتمدة في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة وتحديثاتها والمعمم على الشركات العاملة في مجال الأوراق المالية والسلع
Instrument
CMA Circular No. 2/2017 of 2017
Issued by
Capital Market Authority
Jurisdiction
UAE Federal
Dates
issued 6 November 2017
Status
in force
Topics
AML / CFT · Sanctions
Official source
legislation.uaecma.gov.ae · official text (PDF)
Full text
English official text — 2 passages, 739 words, from the official text
Verified
31 October 2026
Print

SCA circular to companies engaged in the securities and commodities business concerning the list of terrorist individuals and organisations approved by the United Arab Emirates and its updates.

Summary

Circular No. 2 of 2017, dated 6 November 2017 and issued in English and Arabic by the Securities and Commodities Authority (now the CMA) to licensed financial service companies operating in the UAE, applies the additions to the UAE list of terrorist individuals and organisations made by Cabinet Resolution No. 45 of 2017. A copy of the list is attached.

The companies must: search for and freeze any cash, securities or commodities accounts of individuals, groups and organisations on the list, or of natural or legal persons associated with them; freeze funds received from, or on behalf of, listed persons or their associates; refrain from freezing, blocking or using an account unless names and details match the list entirely and without doubt, contacting the Authority or the Central Bank's Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit in case of doubt; and report the freezing actions instantly to the Authority and that Unit on the attached form for identical and similar names. Enquiries go to amltfc@sca.ae. The circular states that compliance avoids severe penalties and sanctions in the UAE and abroad.

The CMA publishes the same file under the companion entry for markets (Circular No. 2 of 2017, markets).

Status: listed as in force. Freezing against the UAE Local Terrorist List is now governed by Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2020.

Who it applies to

Financial service companies licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority (now the CMA) and operating in the UAE, for accounts and funds linked to persons added to the UAE terrorist list by Cabinet Resolution No. 45 of 2017.

Contents

English official text in 2 passages. Open the full text or jump to a provision:

  1. Passage 1
  2. Passage 2

Key provisions

Paragraph FirstSearch for and freeze any cash, securities or commodities accounts of persons on the list approved by the UAE, or of associated natural or legal persons.
Paragraph SecondFreeze funds received from, or on behalf of, listed persons or their associates.
Paragraph ThirdFreeze only on an entire and undoubted match; in case of doubt contact the Authority or the Central Bank's AML unit.
Paragraph FourthInstantly report actions taken to freeze accounts to the Authority and the Central Bank's AML unit on the attached form.
Annex (list and form)Copy of the list under Cabinet Resolution No. 45 of 2017 and a form for reporting frozen accounts of identical and similar names.

Obligations and deadlines

  • Search client accounts against the persons added by Cabinet Resolution No. 45 of 2017.
  • Freeze matched accounts and incoming funds for listed persons.
  • Report freezes instantly on the attached form.

Penalties

The circular sets no amounts; it states that compliance avoids severe penalties and sanctions in the UAE and abroad.

In practice — how Polaris handles it

We are not licensed by the CMA. We use the circular to date historic additions to the UAE list when reviewing a client's past screening records or a freeze from that period. For current work, we build clients' screening on the UAE Local Terrorist List under Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2020.

History and citations

No amendments, repeals or cross-references recorded for this instrument.

“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.

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Related Polaris services

Source and verification. This record was written from the official text published at legislation.uaecma.gov.ae, read on 31 October 2026. Quoted from that text: “With reference to Cabinet Resolution No. (45) of 2017 on the list of terrorist groups and organizations approved by the United Arab Emirates”
Published for general information by Polaris Corporate Services FZ-LLC, a licensed Trust and Corporate Service Provider. It is not legal advice and does not replace the official text, which prevails in case of difference. Arabic is the authoritative language of UAE federal and emirate legislation; English translations are provided by the issuing authorities. Instruments change: check the status and the official source before relying on this page.

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