Nominee shareholders of a company established in the UAE include persons, which are officially registered as owners of the company. Such corporate tool allows actual owners of the company in the UAE to handle confidentiality aspect. Nominee shareholders of the company are not entitled to manage and issue instructions relating to company’s business in the United Arab Emirates, but are intended only for ensuring confidentiality with regard to factual company owners.
If a company in the UAE is owned by nominee shareholders, its factual beneficial shareholder is its beneficial owner. Beneficial owner may at any time request to transfer shares of the company to other persons, appointed by him, or to proceed with registration of shares to his own name.
Management and control of the company in such cases is exercised by means of special power of attorney, signed by a nominee shareholder, and it shall be delivered to beneficial owner of the company, or a person duly appointed by the beneficial owner.
As a rule, such practice is applied by offshore companies, which are registered in the countries where managers and shareholders of companies are entered into official registers.
As far as the UAE is concerned, such corporate tool involving the appointment of nominee shareholders is used rarely because of some specific aspects of the laws of the country. However, if the appointment thereof is essential, clearly, such persons may be appointed subject to compliance with relevant requirements that ensure the protection of ultimate beneficiary.
With regard to the appointment of nominee directors - such tool is frequently used for companies registered in the UAE, and there are no difficulties for applying this solution.
