Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing section

The Beneficial owner

The beneficial owner is the natural person who ultimately and effectively owns or controls a customer, through ownership interest or voting rights, or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted, whether by proxy, trusteeship or mandate, or by any other form of representation. It also includes any person who exercises ultimate effective control over a legal person or arrangement, including any person exercising ultimate effective control by any means.

1.Identifying the Beneficial Owner by the Supervised Entities when conducting CDD Measures:

  • The supervised entities shall undertake customer due diligence measures, which include identifying the customer, whether permanent or occasional, and verifying that customer’s identity using original documents, data or information from a reliable and independent source. Such procedures include identifying the beneficial owner and verifying his identity, using documents, data or information from a reliable source, whereby the supervised entities satisfy themselves that they know the beneficial owner.
  • If the customer or owner of the controlling interest is a company listed on a stock exchange and subject to disclosure requirements which ensure adequate transparency of beneficial ownership, or is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a company, it is not necessary for the supervised entities to identify and verify the identity of any shareholder or beneficial owner of such companies. The relevant identification data may be obtained from a public register, from the customer or from other reliable sources.
  • For further information on how the beneficial owner is identified by the supervised entities when conducting the CDD measures, pursuant to the provisions of Article (11) of the Law No. (20) of 2019 on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, its Implementing Regulations and the Decision of the Minister of Commerce and Industry No. (48) of 2020 Promulgating the AML/CFT Compliance Rules for Auditors, Dealers in Precious Metals or Precious Stones and Trust and Company Service Providers, please refer to:

         Guidance on Beneficial Ownership (Part 3: Identifying the Beneficial Owner by the Supervised Entity when   conducting  CDD Measures).

2. Identifying the Beneficial Owner by the Supervised Entities in case of a Legal Person or Legal Arrangement:

  • Pursuant to the Law No. (1) of 2020 on the Unified Economic Register and its Implementing Regulations promulgated by the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. (12) of 2020, legal persons and legal arrangements applying for licensing, registration, amendment or renewal are required to declare the identity of the beneficial owner, and any of the relevant applications shall not be accepted unless accompanied with the beneficial owner declaration.
  • If the Auditors, Dealers in Precious Metals or Precious Stones or Trust and Company Service Providers perform their activities as a commercial company, they shall be required to declare the beneficial owner based on adopted documents, information or data, when applying for registration, amendment or renewal pursuant to the form prepared by the competent department for this purpose.
  • For more information on the steps to be taken for the beneficial owner declaration, please click ((here)) 

 

3.The beneficial owner (s) of commercial companies is identified, as follows:   

  • The natural person (s) who directly or indirectly, owns an effective controlling interest of at least 20% of the company’s capital or voting rights.
  • Where no beneficial owner is identified, or where there is a doubt that the natural person(s) who ultimately owns effective control is the beneficial owner under the preceding item, or where no natural person exerts control through ownership interests or voting rights, the company shall identify the natural person (s) exercising de facto or legal control through any means, whether directly or indirectly, over the executives, the general assembly, or the operations of the company, by identifying the content of the decisions adopted by the general assembly due to the voting rights they dispose of or for being a shareholder or partner, with the power to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the management, operate or control the company, or any other control instruments.
  • In case no beneficial owner is identified under (1) or (2) above, the beneficial owner shall be the natural person who holds the capacity of legal representation of the company in conformity with the relevant enforceable legislation.

– For more information on the obligations of commercial companies and other legal persons and legal arrangements for identifying beneficial owner (s) and declaring beneficial ownership information pursuant to the law, and for maintaining a register of the required information pertaining to the beneficial owners, please refer to:

Guidance on Beneficial Ownership. 

Beneficial Owner Declaration Form.

 Commercial company obligations related to the beneficial owner.