The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued new anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing guidelines for financial institutions dealing with virtual assets, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The new guidance discusses the risks arising from dealing with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, including due diligence by licensed financial institutions when dealing with consumers and other parties.

The new guidelines will come into force within a month and will apply to specific financial institutions including banks, finance companies, exchanges, payment service providers, registered hawala providers and insurance companies, agents and brokers.

The guidelines also take into account the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering.

In March 2022, the FATF placed the UAE on the "grey" list, a list of jurisdictions requiring enhanced monitoring. In response, the UAE said it is committed to working closely with and improving the FATF.