How Polaris discharges its obligations as a licensed TCSP and DNFBP under UAE federal anti-money-laundering law, and what we require from clients to do so.
Polaris Corporate Services FZ-LLC is a licensed Trust and Corporate Service Provider (TCSP) and a Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (“DNFBP”) for the purposes of the United Arab Emirates anti-money-laundering regime. Polaris is supervised in its DNFBP capacity by the UAE Ministry of Economy and is enrolled on the Financial Intelligence Unit’s goAML reporting platform. This Notice describes how we discharge our anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation-financing obligations, and what we require from clients to enable us to do so.
The legal framework within which Polaris operates includes:
We are required to apply Customer Due Diligence to every prospective and existing client before any engagement is established and before any material transaction is effected. CDD includes: (i) identification and verification of the client; (ii) identification and, on a risk-based approach, verification of the ultimate beneficial owner(s); (iii) understanding the nature and purpose of the proposed business relationship; and (iv) on a risk-based approach, understanding the source of funds and source of wealth associated with the engagement.
We apply Enhanced Due Diligence in higher-risk scenarios, including without limitation: (i) Politically Exposed Persons, their family members and close associates; (ii) clients or counterparties resident in or connected with jurisdictions identified by the FATF or the UAE as high-risk; (iii) complex or unusually high-value transactions without an apparent commercial purpose; (iv) structures involving bearer instruments or nominee shareholders; (v) clients who are subject to adverse media or open-source allegations of financial crime; and (vi) any other matter where, on a risk-based assessment, additional diligence is warranted.
To complete CDD or EDD, we typically request the following:
For natural persons: certified copy of passport; certified copy of national identity card (e.g. Emirates ID); recent utility bill, bank statement or other proof of residential address (issued within the last three months); curriculum vitae or summary of professional background; tax identification number(s); and recent photograph.
For juridical persons: certificate of incorporation; memorandum and articles of association (or equivalent); certificate of incumbency or good standing; ownership and control chart up to the ultimate beneficial owner(s) (UBOs); CDD on the UBO(s) and on directors and authorised signatories; audited financial statements (where available); regulatory licences (where applicable); and resolutions authorising the engagement of Polaris.
For trusts and foundations: trust instrument or foundation charter; documentation evidencing the settlor, trustees, council members, protector and beneficiaries; and the documents required for any corporate trustee.
Documents must be certified true copies or originals as we may reasonably require. We reserve the right to request further or supplementary information at any time, including from publicly available sources or third-party verification services.
For engagements involving material amounts, structures or transactions, we will request information and documentary evidence as to the source of funds and source of wealth, including (as applicable): employment income (recent payslips, employment contract), business income (audited accounts, dividend resolutions), proceeds of sale of an asset (sale contract, bank confirmation), investment returns (brokerage statements), inheritance (probate documents) or other lawful source. We may decline to act where the source of funds or source of wealth cannot be satisfactorily evidenced.
A Politically Exposed Person is a natural person who holds or has held a prominent public function. PEPs, their family members and known close associates are subject to Enhanced Due Diligence in accordance with Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2019. Engagement of a PEP requires senior management approval at Polaris and ongoing enhanced monitoring throughout the relationship.
We screen every prospective client, beneficial owner, authorised signatory, counterparty and connected person against (without limitation) the United Nations Consolidated Sanctions List, the UAE Local Targeted Financial Sanctions list, the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals List, HM Treasury’s consolidated UK sanctions list, and the European Union Consolidated Financial Sanctions List. Screening is performed at onboarding and periodically thereafter. A positive match will result in immediate freezing of any related funds and engagement, in accordance with applicable UAE law, and notification to the UAE Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation.
We monitor client relationships throughout their lifetime, including periodic refresh of CDD documentation on a risk-based periodicity (annually for low-risk clients, more frequently for higher-risk relationships), trigger-event reviews following material changes (such as change of beneficial ownership, change of nationality, change of residence, change of business activity, or significant transaction), and ongoing transaction monitoring.
Where Polaris has reasonable grounds to suspect that any funds, transaction or activity relates to money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing or a predicate offence, we are required by law to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) or Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit via the goAML platform without delay. We will not seek the client’s consent before filing and may, by law, be unable to confirm whether such a report has been filed.
Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 prohibits Polaris and its staff from disclosing to the subject of a Suspicious Transaction Report, or to any third party, that such a report has been or may be filed, or that an AML investigation is or may be in progress. This is known as the “no-tipping-off” rule.
We retain CDD/EDD documentation, transaction records and supporting evidence for a minimum period of five (5) years from the end of the relevant engagement or transaction, in accordance with Article 16 of Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018, and for any longer period required by other applicable law (including the seven-year accounting and corporate-tax retention requirement).
Polaris reserves the absolute right, at its sole discretion and without obligation to give reasons, to: (i) decline to enter into any prospective engagement; (ii) suspend or terminate any existing engagement; or (iii) refuse to act on any particular instruction, where in our reasonable judgement to do so would expose Polaris to material AML, sanctions, regulatory or reputational risk.
By engaging Polaris, the client undertakes to: (i) provide accurate, current and complete information and documents in response to CDD, EDD and ongoing monitoring requests; (ii) promptly notify Polaris of any change in the information previously provided; (iii) refrain from holding or transferring property of unlawful origin through any structure managed or administered by Polaris; and (iv) cooperate fully in any review, audit or investigation lawfully required of Polaris by a competent authority.
Personal data collected for AML purposes is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021). The lawful basis is the discharge of a legal obligation. CDD records are subject to professional confidentiality save where disclosure is required by law or court order.