The Central Bank of the UAE revoked the operating licence of Sundus Exchange on 17 June 2025, striking the company's name from the licences register and simultaneously imposing a financial sanction of AED 10 million. The action was taken under Article 14 of Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 following regulatory examinations that uncovered serious failures and violations of the UAE's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework, according to the CBUAE's official notice published on the central bank's website.
The CBUAE stated that all exchange house owners, staff, and operators are required to abide by UAE laws and standards to maintain the transparency and integrity of financial transactions, framing the action as a reinforcement of the obligations that apply across the licensed money exchange sector.
ARTICLE 14 POWERS
Article 14 empowers supervisory authorities such as the CBUAE to impose a range of administrative sanctions on institutions that breach the AML/CFT framework, from warnings and fines to the restriction, suspension or withdrawal of a licence.
Licence revocation terminates the right to conduct exchange house operations in the UAE and removes the entity from the official register of licensed financial services providers.
OTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
The CBUAE has taken other enforcement measures against the UAE's exchange house and money services sector in 2025. Earlier in the year, the regulator imposed a fine of AED 200 million on a separate exchange house in May 2025.