Industries we serve

Nine sectors. Nine regulatory realities.

Compliance obligations do not arrive in a generic shape. A payment institution, a real estate broker and a virtual asset exchange each answer to different rulebooks, different supervisors and different typologies of risk.

We build frameworks calibrated to the sector you actually operate in — and to the licence, products and customers you actually hold.

01

Fintech & Payments

Payment institutions, SVF issuers, remittance and open-banking platforms

Payment and fintech businesses sit inside one of the most closely supervised perimeters in the UAE. Whether you hold a CBUAE Stored Value Facility or Retail Payment Services licence, operate from DIFC or ADGM, or partner with a licensed institution as an agent, the regulator expects institutional-grade controls from day one — often before the first transaction settles.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

CBUAE Retail Payment Services and SVF licensing, or DFSA/FSRA money services authorisation
Safeguarding and client money segregation arrangements
Transaction monitoring calibrated to high-volume, low-value flows
Agent and distributor oversight, including onboarding and ongoing monitoring
Outsourcing and cloud governance for core payment infrastructure
Consumer protection, complaints handling and fee transparency

How RegLex helps

We prepare and file the licence application, including the regulatory business plan and financial model
We build the AML/CFT programme and calibrate monitoring rules to your actual payment flows
We provide interim MLRO and Compliance Officer cover through the pre-licence and scale-up phases
We test screening and monitoring effectiveness before the regulator does
02

Crypto & Web3

Virtual asset service providers, exchanges, custodians, brokers and token issuers

The UAE has built one of the most developed virtual asset regimes in the world, and with it one of the most demanding. VARA in Dubai, the FSRA in ADGM and the DFSA in DIFC each run distinct rulebooks with their own activity definitions, capital requirements and technology standards. Generic compliance frameworks fail here because they were written for a different asset class.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Licensed activity scope and conditions under the VARA, FSRA or DFSA rulebook
The travel rule: originator and beneficiary information across VASP-to-VASP transfers
Wallet screening, blockchain analytics and exposure to mixers and sanctioned addresses
Custody, key management, segregation and proof of reserves
Market conduct, listing and delisting controls, and market abuse surveillance
Technology governance, penetration testing and incident response

How RegLex helps

We run the full VASP licence application and manage regulator dialogue through to approval
We write frameworks calibrated to on-chain risk, not adapted from banking templates
We place regulator-approved Compliance Officers and MLROs with virtual asset experience
We diagnose exposure across proliferation financing, sanctions evasion and illicit flow typologies
03

Funds & VC

Fund managers, general partners, venture funds and private capital vehicles

Fund managers carry a double compliance burden: the obligations of the management entity and those attaching to each vehicle it runs. Investor due diligence has tightened considerably, and institutional LPs now diligence the compliance function itself before committing capital.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

SCA, DFSA or FSRA fund management authorisation and fund registration
Investor CDD, source of wealth evidence and PEP handling across multiple jurisdictions
Conflicts of interest, allocation policy and personal account dealing controls
Valuation governance, NAV oversight and independent pricing challenge
Delegation and outsourcing to administrators, custodians and investment advisers
Marketing and private placement restrictions across UAE and offshore jurisdictions

How RegLex helps

We license the manager and register the vehicles, onshore or in either financial free zone
We build the investor onboarding framework LPs will diligence without friction
We provide outsourced compliance and MLRO cover so the function is credible from first close
We prepare the ICARA and prudential returns that sit behind the licence
04

Real Estate

Brokers, developers, property managers and real estate investment vehicles

Real estate is among the most heavily scrutinised DNFBP sectors in the UAE, and enforcement has been active. Brokers and developers carry full AML/CFT obligations, plus a specific transaction reporting duty that catches cash and virtual asset payments — a duty many firms discover only after a penalty notice.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Ministry of Economy DNFBP registration and goAML enrolment
Real Estate Activity Reports (REAR) for cash or virtual asset consideration at or above AED 55,000
Buyer and seller CDD, including beneficial ownership of corporate purchasers
Source of funds evidence on high-value and off-plan transactions
Sanctions screening of purchasers, sellers and connected parties
A compliance function that works inside a commission-driven sales culture

How RegLex helps

We register the entity, enrol it on goAML and build the reporting workflow
We write CDD procedures that brokers will actually follow at the point of sale
We deliver role-specific training to sales teams, not generic eLearning
We remediate back-book files and close the gaps before an inspection finds them
05

Family Office

Single and multi-family offices, holding structures and private investment companies

Family offices operate at the intersection of privacy and disclosure. Structures built for confidentiality now sit against UBO registration, economic substance and tax transparency requirements — and banks increasingly refuse relationships where ownership cannot be traced cleanly.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

UBO identification and registration across layered and offshore structures
Economic Substance Regulations applicability for holding and IP companies
Corporate Tax registration, Qualifying Free Zone Person analysis and transfer pricing
Governance frameworks, family charters and delegation of authority
Bank onboarding and correspondent relationship due diligence
Succession, control and reputational risk management

How RegLex helps

We map the structure, resolve the substance and UBO position, and prepare the filings
We build governance that survives generational transition and satisfies counterparties
We advise with absolute discretion on sensitive remediations and investigations
We coordinate the licensing, tax and compliance view as a single position
06

Healthcare

Clinics, hospital groups, medtech providers and healthcare investors

Healthcare operators face a regulatory stack that few sectors match: clinical licensing, patient data protection, procurement integrity and — where treatment is billed at scale — the fraud and anti-bribery controls that funders and insurers now demand.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Patient data governance and confidentiality obligations
Anti-bribery and corruption controls around referrals, pharmaceutical relationships and procurement
Third-party and supplier due diligence across medical supply chains
Insurance billing integrity and fraud prevention controls
Conduct, ethics and speak-up frameworks for clinical and administrative staff
Board oversight and clinical governance reporting

How RegLex helps

We design ABC and conduct frameworks calibrated to referral and procurement risk
We run third-party due diligence programmes across supplier and distributor networks
We build board reporting that gives directors genuine oversight of conduct risk
We deliver ethics workshops that use real dilemmas from the sector
07

E-commerce

Marketplaces, direct-to-consumer platforms and embedded-payment retailers

Once a platform touches money movement it stops being purely a retailer. Marketplaces holding funds between buyer and seller, offering instalment credit, or onboarding third-party merchants take on obligations that the commercial team rarely anticipates.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Whether the payment flow constitutes a regulated activity requiring CBUAE authorisation
Merchant onboarding due diligence and ongoing monitoring of seller behaviour
Fraud, chargeback and account takeover controls
Consumer protection, returns, pricing and advertising compliance
Data protection and cross-border transfer of customer information
Sanctions screening on customers, merchants and delivery destinations

How RegLex helps

We assess the regulatory perimeter before a product launch triggers a licensing obligation
We build merchant onboarding and monitoring frameworks that scale with volume
We calibrate fraud and screening controls to reduce false positives without losing coverage
We support licensing where the payment flow does require authorisation
08

Logistics

Freight forwarders, trade finance users, shipping and free zone traders

Trade is where sanctions and proliferation financing risk concentrates. Dual-use goods, transhipment routes, opaque counterparties and documentary trade finance combine into an exposure profile that supervisors and correspondent banks examine closely.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Sanctions and targeted financial sanctions exposure across counterparties and routes
Dual-use goods identification and export control obligations
Proliferation financing risk assessment and red-flag typologies
Trade-based money laundering indicators: over and under-invoicing, phantom shipping
Counterparty and agent due diligence across multiple jurisdictions
Free zone licensing conditions and customs compliance interfaces

How RegLex helps

We run dedicated sanctions and proliferation financing risk assessments
We build screening frameworks that cover vessels, routes, goods and counterparties
We prepare the evidence correspondent banks require to maintain the relationship
We train commercial and documentation teams on trade-based red flags
09

Media & Gaming

Studios, publishers, streaming platforms and in-game economy operators

Virtual currencies, loot mechanics, creator payouts and cross-border microtransactions have pulled media and gaming businesses into financial regulation. The question is rarely whether controls are needed, but which regime applies to the in-game economy.

Where the regulatory pressure sits

Whether in-game currency or item trading constitutes a regulated virtual asset activity
Creator and player payout flows, and the money transmission risk they carry
Age verification, responsible design and consumer protection obligations
Advertising standards, content licensing and intellectual property compliance
Data protection across large-scale user bases and cross-border processing
Fraud, account takeover and illicit value transfer through in-game economies

How RegLex helps

We assess the regulatory perimeter of the in-game economy before it becomes a finding
We structure payout flows to stay outside or inside the perimeter deliberately
We build proportionate AML and fraud controls for high-volume, low-value activity
We advise on licensing where the model does cross into regulated territory

Why cross-sector matters

Innovation happens at the intersection of industries. We leverage insights from banking to help fintechs scale, and apply agile risk management from the crypto sector to traditional DNFBPs. That cross-pollinated view is what keeps a framework robust when the business model changes.

Read The Edge

One perimeter view

Group entities across sectors and jurisdictions assessed as a single regulatory position.

Typology transfer

Red flags proven in one sector applied before they surface as findings in another.

Model-change ready

Frameworks that hold when a retailer starts moving money or a studio issues a token.

Partner-led throughout

The senior advisor who scoped the work is the one who delivers it.

Your sector has its own rulebook. We read it.

Tell us what you do and which licence you hold. We will tell you what applies.

Book a consult