The UAE Prohibits Money Laundering In Crypto-Real Estate Purchases

The UAE is leading to be a global level crypto & tech hub. The UAE govt. is taking strict actions to prevent crypto money laundering through real estate payments.

The United Arab Emirates will take strong action to stop cryptocurrency-based real estate transactions from being used to launder money. All of this while aspiring to become a global hub for cryptography.

A federation of 7 emirates, including the capital Abu Dhabi and the largest, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, is taking numerous steps to establish itself as a global hub for technology and cryptocurrencies. 

In fact, it worked on a rule to grant a federal license to all service providers connected to digital currencies earlier this year. A number of exchanges have entered the area.

To stop cryptocurrency money laundering, the UAE government now wants to trace Bitcoin and Ethereum payments made for real estate.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government stated in a statement today that as a result, real estate brokers will have to inform money laundering regulators about any property sales financed for or with cryptocurrency.

UAE’s Strict Actions To Prevent Crypto Money Laundering

Some real estate developers in the nation indicated that they would begin accepting payments in Bitcoin and Ethereum as a result of businesses like Bybit, Kraken, Binance, and Crypto.com instituting themselves in the country’s developing crypto centers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Coindesk says that the government is attempting to take dramatic actions to assure that any real estate deal that uses virtual assets, or funds obtained from virtual assets, even if it only accounts for a small portion of the home’s value, must be notified to money laundering watchdogs.

According to a statement from UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin, the new regulations will “little or no space for manipulation or illicit acts that could adversely affect the work environment, the economy, and investment” in the legal and real estate industries. AlMarri Touq

Additionally, they would impose reporting obligations on brokers, agents, and law firms to the Financial Intelligence Unit, which is in charge of locating “black money,” and they would also be applicable when a buyer tries to pay more than AED 55,000 (about $15,000 USD) in cash. 

Since there is no barrier set by the government for virtual assets, it is likely that even the tiniest Bitcoin transactions will be scrutinized.

These steps appear to be in line with those taken by the International Financial Action Task Force (FACT, or GAFI in Spanish), which develops international standards against money laundering and is attempting to take drastic action against the use of cryptocurrencies to launder criminal proceeds or finance terrorism, including through the “travel rule,” a contentious method of identifying and tracking payers.

The UAE Is Leading To Be A Global Technology & Crypto Hub

While these steps are being done, Dubai has declared its intention to develop into a leading global technological center and is relying on cryptocurrencies to do so, according to a report from CNBC.

The outlet claims that by luring businesspeople, investors, and even bitcoin influencers to the city, the emirate now hopes to establish itself as a major worldwide innovation powerhouse.

The way Dubai handled the epidemic, together with its cheap taxes and business-friendly environment, helped pave the way for a post-pandemic boom. As a result, new technology investments are being made.

“Dubai and the United Arab Emirates as a whole set the bar for how to handle a pandemic. Now, you can find talented people wishing to relocate to Dubai from all over the world, according to Ola Doudin, co-founder of the cryptocurrency platform BitOasis.

Wamda, a venture capital and investment company active in the region, conducted research on the $654 million in startup investments made in the Middle East and North Africa in 2020. 

The next year, that sum increased to about $2.9 billion, with the United Arab Emirates receiving about half of it.

Dubai is clearly in the lead in this race, vying with other financial hubs and genuinely establishing itself as a worldwide crypto hub, according to Doudin.

The Nation Which Cares Its People, Technology & Economy Equally

This is true that the UAE is going to be a world-class technology led-country as well as a global crypto hub. But the technology shouldn’t go in the wrong hands or against the nation.

Thus the UAE government has to take serious attempts to prevent the money laundering activities for their people & nation. As the govt. cares for their people so much that people around the world want to move to the UAE.

The administration is working on a regulation to issue a federal license to all the digital currencies service providers. They’re attempting to track all real estate payments which are made through cryptos, for example Bitcoin, Ethereum and others.