Правовой и стратегический консалтинг сегодня для развития вашего бизнеса завтра

According to the Glossary of the CBUAE Rulebook, DNFBPs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions) include:A) Real estate brokers and agents when conducting transactions on behalf of their clients involving the purchase and sale of real estate.B) Dealers in precious metals and precious stones when carrying out any cash transaction or series of linked transactions amounting to more than 55,000 AED.C) Lawyers, notaries, and other independent legal and accounting professionals when preparing, conducting, or executing financial transactions for their clients, including:•        Purchase and sale of real estate;•        Managing funds belonging to a client;•        Managing bank, savings, or securities accounts;•        Organizing contributions for the creation, operation, or management of companies;•        Creating, managing, or operating legal persons or legal arrangements;•        Buying and selling commercial entities.D) Providers of corporate and trust services who perform the following activities on behalf of their clients:•        Acting as an agent in the formation of legal persons;•        Appointing or assisting in appointing a director, company secretary, partner, or other similar position in a legal entity;•        Providing a registered office, business address, residence, correspondence address, or administrative address for a legal person or legal arrangement;•        Acting as or helping to appoint another person to act as a trustee or nominee shareholder.

15 October 2025 per Gibson Dunn and Norton Rose Fulbright. Clyde & Co states 15 November 2025. Several provisions are phased over 12-24 months.

If you identify yourself within this list of DNFBPs and would like to confirm whether you are required to develop AML tools, take the short survey available on the official goAML registry website https://goaml.ae. Reach out to us, and we will help assess your risks and offer tailored solutions for minimizing them!

The penalties outlined in Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 and related regulations range from 50,000 AED to 1,000,000 AED. However, additional rules and stricter sanctions have been developed for each category of DNFBPs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions). For instance, for lawyers, notaries, and other independent legal and accounting professionals involved in financial transactions on behalf of their clients, the maximum penalty can reach up to 5,500,000 AED.

Moreover, additional measures may be imposed, such as license revocation and a ban on operating in the respective sector.

- Securing exclusive rights to use the trademark: Only the owner of a registered trademark has the right to use it in commercial activities within the UAE. This prevents unauthorized copying or imitation of your brand.

- Legal protection: A registered trademark provides its owner with legal protection in case of disputes and grants the right to claim compensation in the event of trademark infringement.

- Brand recognition: Registering a trademark helps enhance a company’s reputation and create a unique identity associated with its products or services.

- International protection: Trademark registration in the UAE allows businesses to apply for international trademark protection under the Madrid System (WIPO), which is particularly relevant for companies planning to expand their business geographically.

- Sale and licensing: A registered trademark can be used as an asset. It can be sold or licensed (transferred for temporary use under a licensing agreement) to other companies, potentially providing an additional source of income.

Any individual or entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities related to the goods or services for which the application is submitted, including foreign companies without a presence in the UAE, can register their trademark in the UAE.

For foreign companies, it is mandatory to engage accredited representatives (IP agents) for trademark registration in the UAE.

Thus, trademark registration in the UAE is available to both residents and non-residents of the country. However, foreign applicants may need to provide additional documents and go through extra steps via local agents.

There are two ways to apply for trademark registration in the UAE:

Self-registration (by the applicant and future trademark owner using their Emirates ID) – available only for resident applicants or companies.
Through representatives (trademark agents) – applicable to both resident applicants/companies and those located outside the UAE.
Trademark registration is available to a wide range of individuals and organizations.

Although the trademark registration process may seem straightforward, every country has its unique specifics, and the UAE is no exception. Delegating the trademark registration to authorized agents can help avoid the following risks:

- Incorrect completion of the registration form, particularly difficulties with using Arabic for the description of the trademark.
- Delays in responding to additional requests from the registrar, which can extend the registration timeline.
- Payment difficulties for registration fees due to the absence of a local bank account.

A privacy policy is a public document published on a company’s website that outlines how personal data of users (website visitors, authorized users, contractors, clients, partners, etc.) is processed, excluding company employees. However, to ensure full compliance with data protection laws in the UAE, companies must also develop the following documents:

- Personal data processing policy which is specifically related to the processing of employee personal data;
- RoPA (Records of Processing Activities) -a detailed record of all personal data processing activities conducted by the company;
- Consent forms for data processing.These must include a clear and specific list of purposes for data processing;
- Internal documents such as an act appointing a DPO, a policy for data destruction, an archiving policy, and other documents tailored to the specifics of your company.

Yes, cookies can be used, but only if informed consent is obtained from the user and a comprehensive Cookie Policy is in place. The "opt-in" approach must be followed, meaning that cookies are disabled by default, and the user must explicitly consent to their use. Before activating cookies, the user must be provided with information about the types of data collected, the purposes for which it is used, and the option to accept or reject them.

This assumption is quite widespread, but in reality, it is often irrelevant and falls into the category of myths.While civil law in the UAE is, to some extent, influenced by the spirit of Sharia principles, when it comes to commercial and corporate law, Sharia rules only play a role in transactions involving Islamic financial structures (such as Musharakah, Murabaha, etc.), or when an Islamic financial institution is a party to the transaction.In other cases, when conducting commercial transactions, the parties are free to choose the applicable law without considering Sharia principles. There are no restrictions on the choice of legal system, and such an approach will not affect the validity of the deal.

Indeed, managers are burdened with significant obligations, and as a result, the risks are high in case of non-performance, as well as in situations of wrongful actions or inaction.UAE company law provides that management (both members of the board of directors and managers) can be held accountable for acts of abuse of power, fraudulent actions, or violations of imperative legal norms and corporate documents.
There are also several criminal offenses, such as theft, embezzlement, misappropriation, or misuse of trust, as well as the unlawful disclosure of confidential information, which can lead to penalties such as imprisonment or large fines for the manager.
Moreover, in the case of bankruptcy, the manager can be held liable for damages. This aspect is similar to the legal framework in Russia. Liability may arise if, within two years before the company ceased to meet its obligations, the manager executed transactions on behalf of the company that were on non-market terms, or if the transactions aimed at gratuitously or disproportionately transferring the company's assets or settling debts with certain creditors to the detriment of other creditors.

Yes, this is possible, provided that the issue in dispute does not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the UAE courts or any other jurisdiction.It is also important to note that if a contract allows for a choice between state courts and arbitration, such a provision may be unenforceable.For example, if the state courts determine that a state court is specified as an alternative to an arbitration institution in an arbitration clause, they will presume their own jurisdiction.
This is because courts follow the logic that the parties must clearly and unequivocally choose arbitration as the competent forum for resolving the dispute, completely excluding the jurisdiction of state courts.
Failure to comply with this approach creates the risk that an arbitral award may not be recognized or enforced if it is issued.However, the clause can include a number of arbitration institutions on an alternative basis, giving the parties a choice.
At the same time, the right to choose any of the specified arbitration institutions should be "symmetrically" provided to all counterparties. Otherwise, there is also the risk that such a decision may not be enforceable through the UAE state courts.