Are TCSPs required to identify nominee shareholders and nominee directors in the UAE?
Yes. Where a Trust and Company Service Provider acts as, or arranges for another person to act as, a nominee shareholder or nominee director, it must look behind that nominee arrangement and identify the natural person on whose behalf the nominee is acting. A person who holds shares or performs management functions purely on the instructions of another is not the beneficial owner; the nominator who exercises real ownership or control is.
This matters because nominee structures are a common way of obscuring true ownership. The TCSP must record the identity of both the nominee and the underlying nominator, verify that information, and factor the arrangement into its risk assessment and ongoing monitoring. UAE company transparency rules also require companies to disclose nominee director and nominee shareholder arrangements as part of maintaining accurate beneficial ownership information.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 (Executive Regulations), Article 9 — requires identifying the customer and the beneficial owner behind nominee arrangements.
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 (Executive Regulations), Article 38 — companies must obtain and retain beneficial ownership and nominee information.
For more details, consult the full text of Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.