Q: I did partnership in LLC business with one Indian last year. Recently I asked him to return my investment as he was not giving any reward of my investment. He agreed to return it. But now he is absconding because he owes some amount to an old partner who filed a police case against him. What should I do now to protect my investment or to avoid further loss? My 2nd question is: which percentage of shares will apply in case of loss? Trade license shows 15% my shares.

Q: I am looking to bring in a co-founder in my startup company. I want to know what are the different possible ways of bringing a co-founder on an equity or salary basis or both or any other way. Our company is based in DIC Freezone. Regards, Ankit

Q: Dear Ma'am, I want to take a loan for business purpose, but if my business is no more working and I am not able to pay the monthly instalments, which type of punishment I have to face or what fines?

Q: Hi, I am planning to buy an existing active company, 13 yrs old, but I foresee legal issues/hidden liabilities later. How can I best safeguard myself? What measures need to be taken before the transfer? Please advice!

Q: Hello I wanted to ask if my family will send me money from Germany to the UAE, and the amount is 120,000$, what are the procedures? Can I receive them? And when can I withdraw them?

Q: Hello, I have a question regarding the legality of the following scenario: 1) UAE company 100% owned by individual "A" provides service and invoices of a foreign company of which individual "A" owns 40% share. 2) UAE company 100% owned by individual "A" provides service and invoices of a foreign company of which individual "A" is an employee (CEO, General Manager or such) and has no ownership. All transactions would be made bank to bank transfers, fully transparent, with invoices to support each transaction. The reason I am asking is that I have seen on an online forum (not run by experts) that this might be considered money laundering or illegal invoicing! Your help is much appreciated! I am trying to make sure that any future ventures I might consider are done by the book and according to UAE laws.

Q: I have registered a company in SHAMS. I am the sole owner. I have no UAE clients. I only work for a USA company as a supplier. It's all online work. Can the USA company transfer payment to my personal account in Dubai? The bank has agreed to it. It's a big amount, so I want to make sure I am not breaking any law.

س: السلام عليكم، أودعت مبلغ من المال في حساب شركة حاضنة أعمال في الإمارات لغرض الاستثمار في شركة (لم تُؤسَّس بعد ولم تصدر لها رخصة تجارية). استلمت ورقة "سند قبض مبلغ للاستثمار في الشركة التي لم تؤسس ولم يوقع عقد شراكتها". بعد فترة طلبت الانسحاب للتأخير في تأسيس الشركة المراد الاستثمار فيها. أبلغوني أنهم صرفوا مبالغ من المال الذي أودع لغرض عمل دراسة جدوى وتأجير المكان، علمًا بأن المبلغ صُرف بدون إذن مني ولا يوجد اتفاق مسبق بشأن الصرف قبل توقيع عقد الشراكة. هل يحق لحاضنة الأعمال التصرُّف في المال لعمل دراسة الجدوى، التي لم تُعرَض عليّ إلا حين قررت الانسحاب، بمجرد إيداعي المبلغ واستلام سند قبض مبلغ الاستثمار؟ علمًا بأن هناك مستثمرين آخرين وضعوا أموالهم أيضًا لغرض الاستثمار في مشروع الشركة ذاتها.

Q: I am a small investor who wants to establish an advanced manufacturing factory in Abu Dhabi. I have another investor outside the country who is willing to invest USD 50 million as a JV between our companies. What is the correct and legal way or steps in order to sign the agreement with the investor and start receiving the investment funds in our bank account so we can start building the factory, hiring, buying the machines, and starting with the project?

Q: Can a shareholder in a company give a loan to the company, and expect an interest payment from the company - legally? If not "interest", can there be an agreed fixed sum that the company will pay the shareholder specifically for providing this short-term "loan" to meet the company's working capital requirements? The point to note is that it's not just any individual giving money to the company, but actually a shareholder "loaning" money to the company for an expected monetary return.

Q: We are expecting to receive an investment of around 1M from a person as part of our board meeting. The person's name is not mentioned in our trade license, he will transfer the amount to the company bank account, from his personal account. So can you please advise me, in the future will the recipient bank ask for any documents/correspondences or do we need to make any legal agreement with him as per the UAE norms? This document is only for banking purposes.

Q: My friend has been arrested by Sharjah CID for funds received from an international transfer which he has no knowledge of how he received. He has been in jail for the past 2 weeks. Even police asked 2 of his office workers to visit and visited their residence and took the laptops and other documents. Then they took hold of passports and other items they collect during the raid of these guys and let them go. What will happen next? How does he proceed? Kindly help us to get some knowledge about this.

Q: Hi, I am currently working for a company (Resident) and planning to start my online business here in the UAE - Dubai. I am planning to have nearly 15000 USD as capital from my overseas partner/friend. I need advice on how would the procedures be to receive the money and not forgetting that I have to send this back in parts with some interest.

Q: Is it legal for one LLC to borrow money from another LLC without interest? How to approach when there is a suspicion of creating a fake creditor (same money looping)? Thank you

Over the years the UAE has become a centre of trade and commerce for the Middle East, thanks to its strategic location, excellent connectivity and extensive services to assist with all aspects of business. According to the World Bank's 2016 report, the UAE has ranked 31st in the global index of ease of doing business. This encourages more entrepreneurs to set up different kinds of business entities in the country.

It is the first article in a series of articles written by the author to give a better insight to the readers about the corporate governance practices under the best practice principles and the UAE legal system through innovative suggestions of its implementation for your organisation. Next series will be on the UAE regulatory framework on corporate governance.

This article intends to give a brief idea of corporate crime, how it happens in the corporate world, the relevance of choosing the right legal action and mechanism.

This article will discuss what is FATF, why is it important, what is the United Arab emirates role, how they are implementing it and what does it have to do with the immigration industry.

The UAE government has announced important changes to the federal Commercial Companies Law, the most significant is related to the foreign ownership of mainland companies. This will grant foreign investors the full ownership of share capital in companies carrying out certain activities specified to that effect by the competent authorities. This means that foreign investors’ shares will not be limited anymore to a maximum of 49% like before, but can be up to 100% instead.

مع صدور قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (58) لسنة (2020) في شان تنظيم إجراءات المستفيد الحقيقي، ومدى مساهمته في الحد من جريمة غسيل الأموال و تمويل الإرهاب، لا بد بدايةً من معرفة مفهوم غسيل الأموال و تمويل الإرهاب. تُعرَّف عملية غسل الأموال بأنها كل معاملة مالية أو مصرفية تهدف إلى إخفاء أو تغيير هوية الأموال المتحصلة بطرق غير قانونية، وذلك بتمريرها عبر النظام المالي والمصرفي لكي تظهر على أنها نابعة من مصادر شرعية، و من ثَمَّ إعادة ضخها واستثمارها بشكل قانوني مغاير لحقيقتها.

Money laundering represents a grave concern globally and is met with stringent legal measures in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to combat financial crimes and preserve the integrity of the financial system. Here's an in-depth exploration covering various aspects of money laundering, the legal framework, and the challenges faced by legal professionals.

تم إنشاء المكتب التنفيذي لمواجهة غسل الأموال وتمويل الإرهاب بموجب قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 10 لسنة 2021 ، ومن بين مهامه الإشراف على تنفيذ الاستراتيجية الوطنية لمكافحة غسيل الأموال وتمويل الإرهاب، ورصد وتقييم أية مخاطر تتعلق بمواجهة غسل الأموال ومكافحة تمويل الإرهاب وتمويل التنظيمات.

The provisions of this Law apply to the commercial companies established in the UAE and the foreign companies that have established in the UAE a base to conduct any activity therein or established a branch or representative office. The Law abrogates Federal Law No. (8) of 1984 Concerning Commercial Companies.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.

The law defines the crimes related to money laundering, commitments and the jurisdictions of the governmental authorities, and the sanctions against perpetrators of money laundering.