CMA Decision No. 123/CEO of 2017 · UAE Federal
Administrative resolution setting regulatory controls for licensed financial activities and services, with an attachment and bases for evaluation added by later amendments.
Administrative Decision No. 123/R.T of 2017 sets the Authority's working tests for who may hold or run a CMA-licensed financial business: fit and proper criteria for companies and their directors, partners and staff; rules on outsourcing; controls for separating activities within one firm; and the list of accredited jobs. It was issued by the Acting Chief Executive Officer on 5 December 2017, took effect on issue (Article 15) and replaced Administrative Decision No. 34/R.T of 2016 (Article 14). It has been amended by Decision No. 5 of 2019, which added Article 6 bis and the bases for evaluation, and by Decision No. 41/CEO of 2021; its attachment was amended by Decision No. 13/Chairman of 2021.
Chapter 1 sets five criteria. Financial capacity (Article 2) looks at capital and guarantees, loans and judgment debts, solvency, bounced cheques, receivership and payment defaults. Competence (Article 3) covers internal controls, risk management, staffing and the qualifications and experience of individuals. Honesty and integrity (Article 4), compliance (Article 5, including a clean regulatory record and absence from UN and other sanctions lists) and refusals or revocations by other regulators (Article 6) complete the test. Article 7 places the burden of proof on the applicant, voids applications based on false data, requires attested foreign degrees, CMA professional exams and annual continuing education, a whistleblowing policy and an up-to-date staff list.
Chapter 2 (Articles 8 to 11) allows only listed support functions to be outsourced (internal control, risk, internal audit, HR, accounting, IT, certain fund work and others the Authority approves), under a service level agreement that gives the Authority access, after an impact study, and without shifting responsibility from the board and senior management. Chapter 3 (Article 12) requires physical, organisational and technical separation between different licensed activities and a written separation guide. Chapter 4 (Article 13) attaches the table of accredited jobs.
The bases for evaluation under Article 6 bis translate past conduct into consequences: grave violations such as market manipulation, insider dealing, misuse of client funds, money laundering suspicions or unlicensed activity lead to refusal of a licence or accreditation for up to 10 years; medium violations lead to conditional approval; criminal convictions lead to refusal for 10 years; and pending investigations delay a decision.
Status: in force as amended.
Companies applying for or holding a CMA licence, their board members, partners and shareholders, accredited and non-accredited employees, individuals applying for job accreditation, and outsourced contractors serving licensed companies.
English official text in 16 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 2 | Financial capacity test: capital and guarantee obligations met, loans and judgment debts paid, solvency, no frequent bounced cheques, no receiver, no stopped commercial payments; for individuals, full legal capacity and rehabilitation after bankruptcy. |
| Article 3 | Competence test: effective internal regulations, controls and risk systems, conflict management and competent staff for the company; relevant qualifications, experience, continuing development and knowledge of legislation for individuals. |
| Article 5 | Compliance test: adherence to legislation, a regulatory record free of penalties, no integrity-related proceedings or convictions, and no listing on UN or other sanctions lists. |
| Article 6 bis | Added in 2019: the Authority may apply the attached bases for evaluation to reject licence or accreditation applications or renewals on integrity, compliance or regulatory-record grounds. |
| Article 7 | Accreditation required for listed jobs; interviews possible; burden of proof on the applicant; false data voids the application; attested foreign degrees, CMA exams and annual continuing education; whistleblowing policy; staff list kept current. |
| Article 8 | Outsourcing allowed only for internal control, discipline officer, risk management, internal audit, HR, accounting, IT, limited fund work and functions the Authority approves. |
| Article 9 | Outsourcing needs a service level agreement giving the Authority access to systems and data, copied to the Authority; the contractor needs Authority approval to serve more than one company. |
| Article 11 | Outsourcing does not shift responsibility: the company, its board and senior management remain fully liable for outsourced work and client protection. |
| Article 12 | Firms with several licensed activities must separate them physically, organisationally and technically, keep a separation guide, document permitted communication and avoid cross-activity incentives. |
| Article 14 | Revokes Administrative Decision No. 34/R.T of 2016 on regulatory controls for financial activities and services. |
| Annex | Bases for evaluation: grave violations bar licensing or accreditation for 5 to 10 years, medium violations lead to conditional approval for 1 to 5 years, criminal convictions to 10-year refusal; pending investigations delay decisions. |
The decision works through refusals rather than fines: under Article 7 and the Article 6 bis bases for evaluation, the Authority may refuse, condition or decline to renew a licence or accreditation, and an application built on incorrect or misleading data is void with legal action reserved. Grave past violations or criminal convictions bar approval for up to 10 years.
Fit and proper is where CMA applications most often stall, and the problems are usually corporate: an old bounced cheque, an unresolved judgment, a director with an undisclosed role at a sanctioned or failed firm, or a shareholder who cannot document source of funds. Before a client files, we run the founders, directors and controlling shareholders through the Article 2 to 6 tests and the evaluation table and fix what can be fixed. We are not licensed by the CMA; we prepare the corporate documents, attested and legalised certificates, UBO and source-of-wealth files, draft outsourcing and service level agreements for review by the client's licensed compliance adviser, and keep board and staff records current after licensing.
| Amended by | CMA Decision No. 5/CEO of 2019; CMA Decision No. 41/CEO of 2021 |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (Rulebook)
Issues the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (the CMA rulebook): licensing categories and requirements for financial activities, approved jobs, business cond…
Amendment 5/CEO of 2019 to Regulatory Controls for Financial Activities and Services
Amending instrument that changes the Regulatory Controls for Financial Activities and Services (CMA Decision No. 123/CEO of 2017). The CMA has consolidated its changes in…
Amendment 41/CEO of 2021 to Regulatory Controls for Financial Activities and Services
Amending instrument recorded in the amendment notes of the Regulatory Controls for Financial Activities and Services (CMA Decision No. 123/CEO of 2017). The CMA has conso…
Executive Controls for the Regulations Manual
Administrative resolution setting executive controls for certain provisions of the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities issued by Decision No. 13/Chairman of 20…
Capital Markets Law
Regulates the onshore capital market from 1 January 2026: financial activities subject to CMA licensing, capital market institutions, offering and listing of securities, …
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