The LatAm Thread

Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Anti money laundering rules

Anti money laundering rules

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Ley 155-17 obliges banks and a long list of non financial businesses to run risk based programs, check clients and beneficial owners, report cash of US$15,000 or more monthly, and report suspicion within 5 working days. Everyone, not just regulated firms, is under cash payment limits: buying shares in cash above RD$400,000 is banned.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar, as shown on its home page on 30 October 2026, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Cash transaction report threshold15000 USDLey 155-17 art. 52, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Cash report threshold, casinos3000 USDLey 155-17 art. 52, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Record retention10 yearsLey 155-17 art. 43, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Suspicious report deadline5 working daysLey 155-17 art. 55, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Financial intelligence unitUnidad de Análisis Financiero (UAF) textLey 155-17 art. 91, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Cash limit on real estate rights1500000 DOPResolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, as of 2025-09-01 · in force
Cash limit on shares and quotas400000 DOPResolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, as of 2025-09-01 · in force

The rule

1. The law sets the crimes, investigation tools, preventive regime and institutions.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 1, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. Laundering is converting, moving or hiding proceeds knowing their origin, at 10 to 20 years of prison and 200 to 400 minimum salaries, plus confiscation.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 3 numeral 1, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. Obligated subjects are financial firms and non financial businesses, listed by law.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 31 to art. 33, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
4. Obligated subjects run a risk based program with risk policies, hiring and training standards, disciplinary rules, a code of conduct and an external audit.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 34, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. They must identify the client, anyone acting for it, and the beneficial owner, and understand the purpose of the relationship.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 38, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. For companies, they must verify name, tax ID, form, proof of existence, control structure, senior managers, address and beneficial owner.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 40, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. Records stay for at least 10 years after the relationship or occasional deal ends.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 43, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. A senior compliance officer with technical capacity is the link to the Unidad de Análisis Financiero and the supervisor.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 44, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. Cash transactions of US$15,000 or more are recorded and reported. Casinos report from US$3,000. Several cash deals for one person in 24 hours are added up.
Example: US$15,000 is about RD$913,510.50 / US$15,000Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 52 and art. 54, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
10. Records for the prior month go to the Unidad de Análisis Financiero in the first 10 calendar days.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 53, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
11. Suspicious operations are reported within 5 working days after being done or attempted, and tipping off is banned.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 55 and art. 63, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
12. Anyone is barred from paying or accepting cash or precious metals above set amounts for listed deals. Notaries and registrars must refuse without proof of the payment method.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 64 and paragraph II, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
13. Thresholds were raised to RD$1,500,000 for real estate, RD$800,000 for vehicles, aircraft and boats, RD$700,000 for watches, jewelry and art, and RD$400,000 for literals d to g, which include shares and company quotas.Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, DGII Aviso 27-25, Threshold table, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: 1 September 2025: art. 64 thresholds rose from RD$1,000,000, RD$500,000, RD$450,000 and RD$250,000.
14. Supervisors are the Superintendencia de Bancos, Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores, Superintendencia de Seguros, IDECOOP for cooperatives and the casino office of the Ministry for gaming. The DGII covers commercial activity with no specific regulator.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos y el Financiamiento del Terrorismo, art. 2 numeral 17, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
DealLaw textCurrent limitUSD
Real estate rightsRD$1,000,000RD$1,500,000US$24,630.26
Vehicles, aircraft, boatsRD$500,000RD$800,000US$13,136.14
Watches, fine jewelry, artRD$450,000RD$700,000US$11,494.12
Shares and company quotas, gaming, use rightsRD$250,000RD$400,000US$6,568.07

Cash limits, art. 64

Worked example

  • A buyer pays RD$350,000 in cash for shares: below the RD$400,000 limit, allowed.
  • A buyer pays RD$500,000 in cash for the same shares: banned, so wire it. In USD terms the limit is US$6,568.07.

Step by step

  1. Check if your activity is listed, or if the DGII lists you.
  2. Name a compliance officer and register with the UAF.
  3. Do a written risk assessment and approve a program.
  4. Build client and beneficial owner checks, and screen lists.
  5. Set monthly cash reporting and a suspicion workflow.
  6. Schedule the external audit and staff training.

Common traps

  • Cash limits bind everyone. A share sale paid in cash above RD$400,000 breaks the law even if no party is regulated.
  • Law text still shows the old thresholds. Use the CONCLAFIT table.
  • Thresholds and fines are indexed, so check for later resolutions before relying on a figure. None later than those here was found.
  • The US$15,000 report is on cash, not all deals, under the DGII norms, while the art. 52 wording is broad. Read the sector norm that binds you.
  • In this law, minimum salary means the public sector figure, which we could not confirm from an official source, so this guide gives only the multiples for art. 3.

Sources

Related pages

Related: Dominican Republic country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X

← International data transfersAML duties for non financial businesses →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.