The regulator of Abu Dhabi’s free zone financial centre said it had fined the local subsidiary of fintech firm Wise $360,000; for breaching anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) “found that Wise did not establish and maintain adequate AML systems; and controls to ensure full compliance with its AML obligations”, it said in a statement.
Wise said in response to a Reuters query that it takes its responsibility to protect its customers and prevent money laundering; and that neither the FSRA nor the company had identified instances of money laundering or other financial crimes.
The FSRA also said its review had not found instances of actual money laundering; as a result of Wise’s AML systems and control failures.
It said breaches by Wise Nuqud included it failing to identify and verify the source of funds or wealth; held by some customers it had identified as high risk before carrying out transactions on their behalf.