{
  "id": 10356374,
  "title": "The fight against financial crime doesn’t stop at catching and prosecuting criminals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/the-fight-against-financial-crime-doesnt-stop-at-catching-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2026/09/28/financial-crime-uae-un/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The fight against financial crime is multifaceted, involving suspicious transaction reporting, investigations, inspections, and regulatory penalties. However, the true measure of a system's effectiveness lies in two key questions: are criminals being prosecuted, and are their illicit profits being taken away and returned to victims? This matter will be particularly relevant in Abu Dhabi, as the UAE hosts the 15th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, convening governments, law enforcement, international organizations, and experts to explore advancements in criminal justice and strengthening the rule of law in the digital age.\n\nAsset recovery demands attention within this discussion. Globally, only a minuscule fraction of criminal proceeds is ever recovered - less than 1 percent, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Recognizing the monetization potential of financial crime, criminals engage in fraud, corruption, trafficking, and cybercrime expecting to profit. Prosecuting an individual while allowing the proceeds to remain hidden means accomplishing only half the objective. Confiscation alone does not suffice - taking away criminals' gains deprives them of their profits, but returning the stolen money to victims aids in repairing the damage caused by the crime. The UAE has embraced this approach, adopting a whole-of-government strategy and establishing the General Secretariat of the National AML/CFT Committee as its central coordinating body. With 90 organizations working together towards this goal, the UAE has witnessed significant progress. Domestic confiscations increased from Dh1 billion ($272.3 million) in 2022 to over Dh2.2 billion in 2023, with total recoveries between 2021 and 2023 exceeding Dh8 billion. However, the most noteworthy figure is the amount returned to victims: between 2021 and the previous year, the UAE returned Dh1.19 billion, including Dh556.6 million in 2023 alone. These aren't just numbers; they represent defrauded individuals, cheated companies, and taxpayers bearing losses.\n\nThis achievement wasn't achieved by chance. It began with making asset recovery a national priority. The UAE acknowledged that no single institution could handle it alone, and thus, recognized the need for coordination. The General Secretariat works closely with the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Intelligence Unit, prosecutors, law enforcement, and supervisors to strengthen the entire recovery cycle. They have also fortified the legal framework, with Federal Decree-Law No 10 of 2025 and its implementing regulations providing authorities with enhanced tools to act against criminal property. This includes freezing funds across banks, designated non-financial businesses, and virtual asset service providers. Swift action is crucial; a criminal transaction can traverse multiple jurisdictions in mere seconds, while traditional investigations may take months or years. If authorities cannot act swiftly, the money may already be gone.\n\nThe greatest challenge, however, lies in international cooperation. We must track the money, halt its movement, confiscate it to prevent crime from thriving, and return it to those robbed. The FATF has repeatedly highlighted the difficulty of cross-border financial crime, but for the UAE, our international position presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As one of the world's most interconnected economies with a predominantly international population and a financial system linking East and West, criminals often originate from abroad or have victims elsewhere. Our response is clear: borders should not shield criminals. When criminal assets reside in the UAE, the UAE seeks to collaborate with international partners to identify, restrain, confiscate, and return these assets wherever the law permits. This creates a virtuous cycle - when a nation witnesses assets recovered through cooperation with the UAE returned to its citizens, trust is built, information-sharing is encouraged, investigations are strengthened, leading to more prosecutions and recoveries. This is why the UAE invests heavily in bilateral and multilateral relationships, including co-operation with the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which had over 3,600 active investigations in 2023 involving an estimated €67 billion ($76.73 billion) in damages. Cases like Operation Admiral, spanning dozens of countries including the UAE, underscore the importance of no jurisdiction tackling financial crime alone. This is the essence of what delegates in Abu Dhabi should contemplate. We must follow the money, freeze it before it disappears, confiscate it to ensure crime doesn't pay, and ultimately return it to those it was stolen from. Behind the technical jargon of beneficial ownership, freezing orders, and mutual legal assistance are the victims. The UAE aspires for a system not just compliant with international standards, but one that delivers justice: prosecuting criminals, removing their profits, and compensating victims. Follow the money. Remove the illicit profit. Return it to the victim. This is how the fight against financial crime becomes a system that delivers justice.",
  "summary": "In the fight against financial crime , we can count suspicious transaction reports, investigations, inspections and regulatory penalties. All matter. But ultimately, two questions tell us whether a system truly works: are we prosecuting criminals, and are we taking away their illicit profits and returning that money to their victims? These questions will be especially relevant in Abu Dhabi , with…",
  "key_points": [
    "Only 1% of criminal proceeds recovered globally, according to UNODC",
    "UAE's National AML/CFT Committee coordinates asset recovery efforts",
    "UAE returned Dh1.19 billion to victims between 2021-2023"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The UAE's emphasis on asset recovery and international cooperation in fighting financial crime sets a model for effective prosecution and victim restitution, highlighting the need for a multifaceted approach.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "The fight against financial crime doesn’t stop at catching and prosecuting criminals",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/the-fight-against-financial-crime-doesnt-stop-at-catching-and-10358238",
        "published": "2026-09-28T04:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}