How should a TCSP identify the beneficial owner of a client company in the UAE?
A Trust and Company Service Provider must look through the client entity to identify the natural person or persons who ultimately own or control it, and then verify that identity using reliable, independent sources. The beneficial owner is the natural person who owns or exercises ultimate effective control over the customer, whether directly or through a chain of ownership or other indirect means, or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is conducted.
In practice the TCSP traces ownership through the corporate structure, applying the relevant ownership or control threshold, and where no such person can be identified, it must identify the natural person who holds the senior managing position. Nominee arrangements deserve particular attention, since a registered shareholder or director may simply be acting on the instructions of another person who is the true controller. The TCSP should keep its beneficial ownership findings current and record the basis on which control was determined.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 (Executive Regulations), Article 9 — requires identification of the customer and beneficial owner.
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 (Executive Regulations), Article 6 — requires verification of the identity of the customer and beneficial owner.
For more details, consult the full text of Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.