The 2025 Healthcare Odyssey

Welcome to the first edition of Law Update for 2025. As we begin this exciting year, we are pleased to turn our attention to one of the most dynamic sectors in the UAE and the broader GCC region – healthcare. Over the past several years, the region has seen unprecedented growth in this sector, driven by legislative advancements, technological innovations, and the increasing focus on sustainability and AI. As such, healthcare is set to be one of the most important sectors in the coming decade.

In this issue, we explore key themes that are significantly shaping the future of healthcare in the UAE, such as recent changes in foreign ownership laws. These reforms present a major opportunity for foreign investors, opening up new avenues for international collaborations and improving the overall healthcare infrastructure. The changes in ownership laws are an important milestone, and we provide an analysis of what this means for the industry and the various players involved.

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September 2013
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UAE Ministry of Justice circular: AML/CFT responsibilities of law firms, lawyers & Public Notaries

UAE Ministry of Justice circular: AML/CFT responsibilities of law firms, lawyers & Public Notaries

Ibtissem Lassoued - Partner, Co-Head of White Collar Crime & Investigations - White Collar Crime & Investigations / Family Business

i.lassoued@tamimi.com

Dubai International Financial Centre

Andrew Hudson

a.hudson@tamimi.com

September 2013

On 21 August 2013, the MoJ distributed Circular No. 2 of 2013 on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Regulations for Lawyers and Other Legal Professionals and Public Notaries dated 11 August 2013 (the ‘Circular’).

The Circular reminds lawyers, other legal professionals and public notaries that they are subject to certain obligations in accordance with:

Federal Law No. 2 of 2002 regarding the criminalization of money laundering (‘AML Law’);
Federal Law No. 1 of 2004 on combating terrorism offences (‘CT Law’); and
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations.

Whereas the AML Law and the CT Law do not make specific reference to the obligations imposed on legal professionals, The Circular makes it clear that the obligations under those laws and the Circular apply to lawyers, legal professionals and public notaries in the conduct of the following activities by them:

Transactions in real estate.
Management of client money, securities and other assets.
Management of bank, savings or securities accounts.
Organisation of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies legal persons or other arrangements, and the buying and selling of business entities.

A key requirement of the Circular is that Senior Management and owners of law firms must ensure that the firm’s policies, procedures, systems and controls appropriately and adequately address the requirements of the AML and CT Laws and the Circular.

This bulletin is intended to bring the Circular to the attention of those persons to whom it applies. If you have any queries regarding the Circular or the areas of law it addresses, please contact Ibtissam Lassoued, Partner, Financial Crime Department at: i.lassoued@tamimi.com and Andrew Hudson at: a.hudson@tamimi.com.