How to Choose the Best Lawyer: A UAE Guide
Choosing the best lawyer in the UAE comes down to five checks: whether they are an advocate or a legal
A financial crime lawyer in Dubai defends individuals and businesses accused of money laundering, fraud, embezzlement, bribery, or sanctions breaches, and advises companies on staying the right side of the rules. The law here changed recently and sharply: Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 came into force on 14 October 2025 and replaced the 2018 anti-money laundering law entirely, widening liability and raising penalties. Directors can now be prosecuted personally, and companies face fines running into the tens of millions. At Hessa Al Hammadi Advocates & Legal Consultants, we act through our criminal law, litigation, and commercial law practices, and we are licensed before the Dubai Courts, the Abu Dhabi Courts, and both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution, which is where these investigations actually begin. A financial crime lawyer in Dubai is who you call before you answer any questions.
Financial crime is a broad label covering several very different offences. What they share is that they carry prison sentences, not just fines, and they move quickly from investigation to prosecution.
The new law also expressly captures money laundering carried out through digital systems and virtual assets, which links directly to our cryptocurrency disputes work. Financial crime allegations rarely stay in one box, which is why they need a firm that covers several.
If your compliance policy, or your lawyer’s advice, still refers to the 2018 law, it is out of date. The framework was rebuilt.
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 repealed and replaced Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018, and came into effect on 14 October 2025. It introduced a standalone offence of proliferation financing, expressly extended money laundering offences to digital systems, virtual assets, and cryptographic technology, and added tax evasion, both direct and indirect, to the list of predicate offences that can underpin a laundering charge.
The change that matters most to anyone under suspicion is quieter. The law lowered the evidentiary threshold, so liability can now be established through circumstantial evidence or reasonable inference, rather than requiring direct proof that you knew. That makes early, expert legal advice far more important than it used to be. Any advice given before October 2025 needs revisiting.
Yes, and this is the single biggest change for business owners. Financial crime exposure is no longer something a company absorbs on your behalf.
Under the new law, a person responsible for the actual management of a company can be punished with imprisonment, a fine, or both, where it is shown that they knew of the offence and that it happened because they breached their duties. Companies themselves now face fines of between AED 5 million and AED 100 million, or an amount equal to the criminal property involved, a steep rise from the previous range. Giving false or misleading information about beneficial ownership to the authorities is separately punishable by imprisonment and a fine.
Boards that treated AML as an administrative box-ticking exercise are now personally exposed, which is why we advise management through our corporate law team. The company is no longer the only defendant, so directors need their own advice.
This is how most people discover they are under investigation. There is no warning letter, and the money simply stops moving.
The Financial Intelligence Unit now holds strengthened investigative and freezing powers, including the ability to impose asset holds for up to 30 days without prior notice. A freeze paralyses a business fast: salaries go unpaid, suppliers go unpaid, and the reputational damage begins before any charge is laid.
What you do in the first days matters enormously. Providing an incomplete or defensive explanation can deepen suspicion, while a properly evidenced response, showing the legitimate source of funds, is what unlocks accounts. A frozen account is a legal emergency, not an administrative one.
This is the question we are asked most often, and the honest answer is reassuring for most people. The law changed in your favour.
Under the Commercial Transactions Law, a cheque that bounces for insufficient funds is now treated primarily as a civil matter, and it operates as a direct writ of execution, meaning the holder can go straight to the Execution Court to recover the money without first running a full lawsuit. Criminal liability is reserved for genuine fraud, such as ordering a bank to stop payment in bad faith or closing the account to defeat the cheque.
So the routine bounced cheque is now a debt problem rather than a prison problem, and you can read our guide on how to recover debt in the UAE. Where fraud is alleged, it is a criminal case, and the difference is worth taking advice on immediately. Most cheque cases are civil now, but the exceptions still carry a jail sentence.
Fraud and embezzlement cases usually begin with a complaint to the police from an employer, a partner, or an investor. From that moment, the timeline is short and unforgiving.
Detention can follow quickly, and what happens in the first 48 hours often shapes the whole case, which we set out in our guide on what happens when someone is arrested in Dubai. Statements given without a lawyer, in a language you do not fully control, are extremely difficult to walk back later. Securing release is the first priority, and you can read how to apply for bail in the UAE.
Because we are licensed before both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution, we can engage at the investigation stage rather than waiting for the case to reach court, which is frequently where these matters are won or lost. Say nothing and call a lawyer, because the first statement is the one that follows you.
Many business owners assume AML obligations apply only to banks. They do not, and this misunderstanding is producing a steady stream of penalties.
The rules extend to Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, which include real estate agents and brokers, dealers in precious metals and stones, company service providers, accountants, and law firms. Those businesses must register on the goAML platform, appoint a compliance officer, carry out customer due diligence, and file suspicious transaction reports. The reporting test catches people out: you must report where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion, not where you have proof, and failing to report is itself a criminal offence.
If you operate in a free zone, a different regulator applies, with the DFSA supervising the DIFC and the FSRA supervising the ADGM, while virtual asset businesses answer to VARA. Enforcement is real, and one virtual asset group and its former chief executive were fined close to nine million dollars by the ADGM regulator in a recent case. A financial service lawyer can tell you which regime applies to you before an inspector does. Assuming the rules do not apply to you is the most expensive assumption in this area.
The best financial crime lawyer is judged on where they can appear and what they have proved, because these cases are decided long before a courtroom.
Learn more about Hessa Al Hammadi Advocates. Access to the prosecution stage is worth more in these cases than anything a brochure can promise.
A trusted financial crime lawyer in Dubai steps in before you give a statement, before an account freeze hardens into a charge, and before a compliance gap becomes a prosecution. With a new AML law, personal liability for directors, and fines reaching AED 100 million, the cost of getting this wrong has risen sharply.
Whether you are under investigation, facing a frozen account, or unsure whether your business is caught by the rules, we will give you a straight assessment. Our fees are set out clearly at the outset through our legal consultation service.
Under investigation or facing a freeze? Contact Hessa Al Hammadi Advocates on +971 50 211 6931 or email info@nhalhammadi.com to book your 45-minute initial consultation with a financial crime lawyer in Dubai.
They defend individuals and businesses accused of money laundering, fraud, embezzlement, bribery, and sanctions offences, respond to account freezes and investigations, and advise companies on their AML obligations.
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, which came into force on 14 October 2025 and replaced the 2018 AML law. It added proliferation financing, covers virtual assets, and treats tax evasion as a predicate offence.
Yes. A person responsible for the actual management of a company can face imprisonment and a fine where they knew of the offence and it resulted from a breach of their duties. Companies face fines of AED 5 million to AED 100 million.
Usually not. A cheque bouncing for insufficient funds is now primarily a civil matter and acts as a direct writ of execution. Criminal liability is reserved for genuine fraud, such as bad-faith stop-payment instructions.
Call +971 50 211 6931 or email info@nhalhammadi.com to book a 45-minute initial consultation. We will review your contract or dispute, explain your options, and set out all costs clearly at the outset.
Keeping you informed about the ever-changing legal landscape.
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