01
Structure without purpose
A client wants layers of companies or arrangements with no commercial logic beyond distance and opacity.
Risk indicators
What suspicious looks like in company formation
Corporate structures are a primary tool for hiding the proceeds of crime. As the agent forming and administering them, you see the signals first. These are the patterns to notice and record.
02
A hidden beneficial owner
The client avoids naming the individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity, or names a nominee.
03
Nominees standing in
Directors or shareholders appear to act for someone else who stays deliberately out of view.
04
Speed and indifference
A client wants entities formed urgently and shows little interest in anything beyond getting them registered.
05
Mismatched activity
The proposed business has no clear link to the client's background, location or stated means.
06
Frequent restructuring
Ownership or directorships change repeatedly with no evident commercial reason.
The regulatory stakes
The cost of getting it wrong
Company service providers are supervised for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML and CTF) compliance and sit at the centre of the beneficial ownership regime. These figures show the scale of what the regulator can impose.
Up to AED 5M
Administrative fines for AML and CTF breaches
From AED 50,000 per violation, under Cabinet Decision No. 16 of 2021 (Unified List of Violations and Administrative Fines). [VERIFY]
Licence
Suspension or withdrawal for repeated or serious failures
Supervisors can restrict or remove the right to operate. [VERIFY]
[VERIFY]
Service providers penalised to date
Confirm the current published figure before this page goes live. [VERIFY]
Self-check
Are you in scope?
If any of these describe your business, UAE law treats you as a Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession with full AML obligations. Tick what applies.
You carry AML obligations
Company service providers are designated under UAE AML law. That means goAML registration, beneficial ownership verification, client due diligence and ongoing monitoring. We help you put each of these in place.
0 of these apply to you
How we help CSPs & Company Formation Agents
What we do
We help company service providers meet their AML and CTF obligations in a way that fits client onboarding and entity administration, from registration through to ownership verification, reporting and staff readiness.
01
Registration and Reporting Setup
We register your business on goAML and build the reporting workflow your team follows when a concern arises.
goAML registration
Registration with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and reporting access configured.
Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) workflow
A documented route from a concern to a timely filing.
Ongoing monitoring
A process to keep ownership and control information current for entities you administer.
02
Ownership and Client Due Diligence
We design beneficial ownership verification and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) that fit company formation and administration.
- Beneficial ownership verification on every entity
- Client, director and shareholder identification
- Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for higher-risk clients and structures
03
Procedures and Trained Staff
We give your onboarding and administration teams clear procedures and the training to apply them.
- Red flag awareness for onboarding staff
- Internal escalation and reporting route
- Documented training records for inspection
How we get you compliant
From registration to a working ownership and reporting routine, built around how you onboard and administer clients.
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The risk assessment, policies and procedures your business is required to hold.
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Explore service →AML Training & Audit
Red flag and onboarding training built for company formation teams.
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