The UAE left the grey list, Monaco joined it: what changed in the reputation of jurisdictions

Two pieces of news worth reading together, because they change the familiar map of quiet havens.

The UAE

The Emirates left the so-called grey list of the financial action task force on money laundering. Reforms preceded it: a centralised register of beneficial owners, and stronger data exchange between banks and regulators. The result is a reputation as one of the more transparent financial centres rather than a status of jurisdiction under monitoring.

Monaco

In June 2025 the European Commission added the principality to its list of jurisdictions at high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The reasons were insufficient transparency of financial operations and gaps in regulation.

What that means in practice

Lists of this kind are not abstract. They determine how thoroughly a bank checks a payment connected to a jurisdiction and how long it takes to open an account. Leaving the grey list means transactions from the UAE pass international compliance more easily than before.

For an owner of property in the Emirates that shows up in dull but important things: transferring funds abroad, repatriating rental income, selling a property to a non-resident.

A caveat worth stating

An improvement in a jurisdiction's standing does not mean lighter checks for an individual client. The reverse: the reforms that took the country off the list were precisely a tightening of internal procedures. A centralised beneficial ownership register means the ownership structure is known to the regulator.

Counting on opacity as an advantage of the UAE today is wrong. The advantage here is different — predictability and speed of procedure for lawful activity.