AML & KYC Policy

Khaleeja is a marketplace that handles payments and remits funds to sellers, so we are subject to UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 on AML / Counter-Terrorism Financing, Cabinet Decision No. 58 of 2020 on UBO disclosure, and analogous AML frameworks in KSA (SAMA), Bahrain (CBB), Qatar (QFC) and Oman (CBO). Stripe (our payment partner) layers additional KYC on every connected account.

• Trade licence number, issuing authority, expiry, and a clear scan of the licence.
• Memorandum of Association (MOA) listing all shareholders.
• Founder Emirates ID / national ID and passport.
• Ultimate Beneficial Owner declaration — every individual holding 25% or more (per UAE Cabinet Decision No. 58/2020).
• Bank account details (IBAN matching the legal entity name).
• VAT registration / TRN where applicable.

We screen the company name, founder name, and shareholders against the UAE Local Terrorist List, the UN Consolidated Sanctions List, OFAC SDN List, and EU consolidated list before approving any seller. Re-screening is automatic when lists are updated.

• Risk scoring at order placement (basket size, country, payment method, buyer history).
• Flagging of high-value or unusual patterns for human review.
• Mandatory pause-and-review on any transaction matching adverse risk indicators.

Where we identify activity that may amount to money laundering or terrorism financing, we report to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (or the equivalent FIU in the relevant GCC jurisdiction) per the legal timelines. Reports are confidential by law and not disclosed to the subject.

We keep KYC, KYB and transaction records for at least 5 years after the seller leaves Khaleeja or the transaction date, in line with UAE AML requirements. Records are stored encrypted, with access logged.

Khaleeja does not require buyer KYC for normal-value purchases. For unusually large orders we may request additional information consistent with our payment providers' rules and applicable AML thresholds.