TaxSavvyAE

Nominee shareholders

My friend holds shares in my company on my behalf. Do I need to disclose that?

The situation

Yes. Nominee arrangements must be disclosed, and the person for whom the shares are held is the beneficial owner.

The law

  • Cabinet Resolution 109 of 2023: Disclosure of nominee arrangements and real beneficiaries

What it means for you

Hiding the real owner can bring penalties and AML problems with banks. Example: a friend shown as 51 percent shareholder for you must be recorded as nominee, with you as beneficial owner. It is often cleaner to transfer the shares to you.

What to do

  1. Write down the nominee arrangement.
  2. Record the nominee and beneficiary.
  3. File with the registrar.
  4. Consider transferring shares to the real owner.

We can do this for youBeneficial owner (UBO) register: identifying owners, filing with the registrar and updating changes: AED 750

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