What are the penalties for giving false beneficial ownership information in the UAE?
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 makes it an offence to intentionally provide false or misleading beneficial owner information to a competent authority that requests it, or to a financial institution, DNFBP or virtual asset service provider. The penalty is imprisonment and a fine of not less than AED 20,000, or either penalty.
This provision reinforces the integrity of beneficial ownership data, which is central to preventing the misuse of legal persons and arrangements. It sits alongside the general obligation to identify and verify the beneficial owner during customer due diligence. Companies, nominee directors and nominee shareholders should ensure that ownership and control information supplied to registries and to regulated counterparties is accurate and kept up to date, since deliberate misstatement now carries direct criminal exposure.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 35(1) — penalises the provision of false or misleading beneficial owner information
For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 makes it an offence to intentionally provide false or misleading beneficial owner information to a competent authority that requests it, or to a financial institution, DNFBP or virtual asset service provider. The penalty is imprisonment and a fine of not less than AED 20,000, or either penalty.
This provision reinforces the integrity of beneficial ownership data, which is central to preventing the misuse of legal persons and arrangements. It sits alongside the general obligation to identify and verify the beneficial owner during customer due diligence. Companies, nominee directors and nominee shareholders should ensure that ownership and control information supplied to registries and to regulated counterparties is accurate and kept up to date, since deliberate misstatement now carries direct criminal exposure.
Legal Reference (UAE):
· Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, Article 35(1) — penalises the provision of false or misleading beneficial owner information
For more details, consult the full text of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 or seek guidance from your AML compliance officer.