Government authorities at international and national levels have increased the pressure on the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. Identification and verification of the beneficial ownership of corporate third parties (customers, suppliers, agents, consultants, etc.) are now an essential component of the Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding and remediation processes.

It is at the heart of the latest raft of international Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) sanctions and regulations, as well as tax compliance laws and standards, such as Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

While these obligations have been widely acknowledged for regulated industries such as banks, insurances and other financial industry companies, other organizations are today directly affected by these disclosure requirements and the trend will only continue to grow in the future across sectors and industries worldwide.

The UAE has been a pioneer in ensuring companies stay compliant to AML and UBO regulations. The UAE Ministry of Economy and the Central Bank of the UAE have authorised licensing authorities across the country to begin implementing administrative penalties and fines against any companies that fail to submit UBO information. There is now an increased pressure on not only financial and professional services but also real estate, auditing and trading sectors.

Any institution within the scope of Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing regulations needs to disclose the UBO’s identity for any of their business transactions. As per the authorities’ guidance, companies are obliged to develop internal policies, controls, and procedures that are commensurate with the nature and size of their business to manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks.