Cabinet Resolution No. (58) of 2020 regulating Beneficial Owner Procedures (the “Resolution”) came into effect on 28 August 2020 and replaced Cabinet Resolution No. 34 of 2020 issued earlier this year. The Resolution introduced new requirements for entities to disclose their beneficial owners. The purpose of the regulations is to enhance the transparency of entities registered in the UAE, as well as to combat terrorism financing and targeting the real persons behind money laundering. We at Protax are providing UBO Regulations Compliance Service at nominal charges to new clients and as complimentary to existing clients.
Why Beneficial Owner Regulations ?
International organizations and like the Financial Action Task Force (‘FATF’), which promotes measures related to fighting anti-money laundering and to combat the financing of terrorism (‘AML/CFT’), and the OECD both support ‘beneficial ownership’ regimes.
A ‘beneficial ownership’ regime regarding the ownership of legal entities is a critical tool in combatting tax evasion, corruption, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism. It also allows agencies to determine the ownership and control of legal entities such as corporations, and to “look through” the different corporate layers to conclude who are the true (or ultimate) beneficiaries.
In the last decade, several jurisdictions around the world such as the European Union member states, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands introduced such regimes. Also, within the UAE, some free zone jurisdictions, such as the Dubai International Finance Centre (‘DIFC’), Abu Dhabi Global Market (‘ADGM’) and Dubai Development Authority (‘DDA’), introduced beneficial ownership regimes a while ago.
As part of the UAE’s shift towards greater transparency, and to be in line with global standards, the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs (‘Cabinet’) issued Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020 on the regulation of the Procedures of the Real Beneficiary’ (‘Resolution 58’).
Resolution 58 introduced a requirement for entities in the UAE (with certain exceptions) to secure and maintain proper, reliable and current information of their real beneficiaries (‘Real Beneficiaries’) as well as update the authorities in this regard. This legislation introduces the beneficial ownership regime to the UAE “mainland” and free zone entities and mandates the maintenance of the relevant registers discussed below.
Exemptions
Resolution 58 applies to all legal persons incorporated or registered in the UAE, including its free zones, except for;
- Financial free zone entities, i.e. entities in the DIFC and ADGM, that are subject to their specific legislations ;
- Concerning beneficiaries (i.e. ultimate beneficial owners’ regime);
- Companies wholly owned by UAE federal or local governments, including the companies they wholly own; and
- Companies wholly owned by publicly listed companies that are subject to transparency and disclosure requirements, already, under UAE law.
Who is real beneficiary ?
Under the Resolution, a Real Beneficiary is a natural person who either has ultimate ownership, or exercises ultimate control over a legal person, directly or through a chain of ownership or control, or other indirect means. The Real Beneficiary is also the natural person on whose behalf transactions are conducted, or who exercises ultimate effective control over the legal person.
In practical terms, the Real Beneficiary is every person who ultimately owns or controls, whether directly or indirectly, whether through shares or bearer shares:
- 25% or more of the share capital; or
- 25% or more of the voting rights, in the legal person.
This could be by a chain of ownership of control or other ways such as having the right to appoint or remove the company’s management.
If no natural person satisfies the above criteria, or if there are any doubts as to who satisfies them, then the Real Beneficiary would be the natural person who exercises control of the legal person through any other means. If still, one cannot identify such a natural person, then the senior manager of the legal person is the Real Beneficiary.
Register of Real Beneficiaries
Under the Resolution, each entity shall maintain a Register of Real Beneficiaries. The Register shall reference, in respect of the Real Beneficiary(ies):
- Name;
- Nationality;
- Date and place of birth;
- Residential or service address;
- Passport or identity card details;
- The basis on which that person is considered a Real Beneficiary;
- Date appointed as a Real Beneficiary; and
- Date ceased to be a Real Beneficiary.
Where the legal person identifies a person as a Real Beneficiary, it shall give them notice of this. The notice shall include the basis on which the person is identified as a Real Beneficiary, their available information, and a request to provide any missing information. If 15 days’ notice passes without a response, then the legal person shall give such notice. If a further 15 days pass without a response, then the legal person shall record the available information. The legal person shall update the above information in their records accordingly within 15 days of their being informed of such a change.
Register of Partners / Shareholders / Officers
Further, the Resolution makes it mandatory for all entities to which it applies, to maintain a ‘Register of Partners’ or ‘Register of Shareholders’. The applicable register shall include:
- Number and classes of shares, and the associated voting rights;
- Date of appointment as a partner/ member;
- For natural persons: The full name as per passport or identification card, in addition to nationality, address, place of birth, name and place of work, and photocopies of the relevant identification documents;
- For legal persons: Name, legal form and memorandum of association, registered office address, articles of association and any similar documents, names and particulars of the directors of the entity; and information similar to that outlined above.
- The legal person shall have 15 days to update any changes to the information.
- Finally, UAE entities are required to maintain Officers Register, as well.
Disclosure Timelines
The declaration timelines are as follows:
- Legal persons currently existing in the UAE have an obligation to create those registers and share them with the relevant registrar by 27 October 2020; and
- Newly incorporated legal persons will have 60 days from the date of incorporation to create and share these registers;
- Where the legal person issues shares in the name of a person or board director, the legal person shall have 15 days to disclose to the registrar the details of these shares, as well as the identities of the recipient; and
- If the registrar requests any additional information related to the registers, the legal person is obliged to provide this information within the time period the registrar states.
While some registrars have already started accepting those submissions, the others (e.g. the Department of Economic Development for onshore entities) are yet to open for submissions. As of today, there are no stated fines for incorrect disclosure or for lack of disclosure.
Conclusion
The new UAE obligations to maintain a Register of Real Beneficiaries and to maintain and, in certain situations file with authorities, the details of Nominee Board Directors, Trustees, and their beneficiaries, introduce an extra element of transparency into the UAE mainland free zone economies.
These are based on the FATF and Global Forum recommendations. The plan of the new legislation is to make the UAE jurisdictions, more robust, more reliable, and operating in line with global standards. On a global level, such new requirements assist in combatting tax evasion, corruption, money laundering, and the financing of terrorism. The resolution compliments other related legislation the UAE enacted in the recent past such as those concerning anti-money laundering and economic substance requirements. Combined, they demonstrate the UAE’s progressive outlook and dedication to becoming and remaining one of the world’s most transparent and competitive places to do business.