Corporate KYC Compliance Tool: Interactive Checker for Legal Persons

The first step collects core legal identity facts about the entity, as distinct from the documents that evidence those facts. All six fields in this step are compulsory.

Full legal name must be collected exactly as registered, including the legal form suffix. Trade names and abbreviations are not sufficient. Legal form determines the corporate governance framework, ownership verification approach, and risk classification; branches of foreign companies carry a different profile than locally incorporated entities. Registered office address and principal place of business must both be collected; a mismatch between the two is a red flag.

Name and address of legal representative in the UAE is expressly required for foreign legal persons under Art. 9(b). Business registration number and date of registration sit here as identity-level facts, not documents. The registration date helps assess operating history; newly incorporated entities with no trading history are a higher-risk indicator. Corporate Tax Registration Number is the UAE TRN issued by the Federal Tax Authority for the legal person subject to Corporate Tax. Where an entity claims exemption, documentation confirming that exemption must be collected.

The second step collects the actual documents that evidence the entity's legal existence, governance structure, and registered address, as distinct from the identity facts recorded in Step 1.

Memorandum of Association must be current; any amendments must also be collected. Articles of Association or constitutional documents must be current including all amendments. The AoA governs management structure and voting rights, both of which are directly relevant to UBO analysis. Trade licence or commercial registration must be valid at onboarding; an expired licence is not acceptable. Licensed activities must be cross-checked against the stated business purpose; inconsistencies are a red flag.

Address proof document corroborates the address declared in Step 1. The tool accepts four document types: a utility bill in the entity's name; a government-issued document showing the registered or business address; a tenancy contract or lease agreement registered with the relevant authority such as Ejari in Dubai; or a bank or account statement issued by a government-regulated financial institution. The document must be dated within the last three months.

The third step identifies and verifies the natural persons who control and act on behalf of the entity. A notice at the top of this step reminds compliance officers that every person must be individually verified: Emirates ID or passport collected and authority confirmed.

Senior management identity details covers full names, identity documents, roles, and PEP status of all directors, managing directors, and general managers. PEP status must be established through screening against recognised databases; do not rely solely on self-declaration. Any PEP finding must be flagged immediately for the risk assessment at the summary stage and will require EDD and senior management sign-off before onboarding proceeds.

Identity details of authorised signatories is a distinct step from senior management verification. The person presenting to transact may not be a director, and their identity must be verified independently, confirmed by board resolution or power of attorney. Board resolution or authority document must be signed, dated, and current, naming the authorised persons and specifically authorising engagement with the DNFBP.

The fourth step is the most analytically demanding in corporate KYB. It requires tracing the entity's full ownership chain to the ultimate natural persons who own or control it.

Ownership and control structure requires mapping not just the immediate shareholders but every layer until natural persons are reached. Complex, multi-layer, or opaque structures are a High-Risk indicator under CR 134/2025, Art. 1 and must be flagged at the summary stage.

Shareholder or partners register must be current and certified. Compare it against the MoA; any discrepancy must be investigated. UBO identity details are required for every natural person with 25% or more of ownership, voting rights, or effective control. The field now explicitly includes PEP status alongside full name, nationality, date of birth, place of birth, residential address, and identity document. PEP status must be established through database screening; a PEP finding at UBO level is a significant risk escalation requiring EDD and senior management sign-off. Nominees do not qualify as UBOs.

Nominee shareholder and director details require disclosure of any nominees and their relationship to the nominator. CR 134/2025 introduced specific definitions for nominees; where nominees exist, their status must be disclosed. Undisclosed nominee arrangements are a significant red flag and must be escalated.

Nature of the entity's business activities establishes what the entity actually does. The stated activities must be consistent with the trade licence. For example, a company licensed for trading claiming to conduct financial services is a red flag that must be investigated before onboarding proceeds.

Nature and purpose of the business relationship must be documented for all customers, not just high-risk ones. A vague or undisclosed purpose is a red flag. For real estate, document the property type, buyer or seller role, and intended use. The stated purpose must remain consistent with observed transactions throughout the relationship.

Source of funds for transactions covers how the entity will fund the specific transactions conducted with the DNFBP, not the entity's overall wealth. For significant transactions, documentary evidence such as bank statements, invoices, or sale proceeds documentation should be obtained. Implausible source of funds should inform the risk rating at the summary stage.

Collection review presents every field from all five steps with a green tick for collected items and a red cross for items outstanding. A status banner shows collected versus outstanding counts and flags any gaps that must be addressed before onboarding is finalised.

Entity risk rating is assigned here, informed by a list of common corporate high-risk indicators: a PEP among UBOs or senior management; incorporation in a FATF high-risk jurisdiction; complex, multi-layer, or nominee ownership; a newly incorporated entity with no trading history; disproportionate transaction values; cash-intensive sector operations; and adverse media findings on the entity, its directors, or its UBOs.

Selecting Standard Risk confirms that standard CDD is sufficient. Selecting High Risk opens the EDD outcome panel, listing four additional items that must be collected before onboarding proceeds: audited financial statements or annual reports; source of wealth of the entity and its UBOs; a group structure chart for complex or multi-layer ownership chains; and tax registration numbers or TINs for the entity and each UBO where they exist. Senior management sign-off is required.