The UAE ministry of Economy has published a report on 24th June 2022, reinforcing the regulations on Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and illegal organizations’ and its amendments following Article (44) Clause (3) of ‘Cabinet Decision No.(10) Of 2019.
It states the following :
“Putting in place the Crime-Combating regulations, instructions and forms for those subject to its supervision, when necessary”.
The Ministry of Economy instructs all real estate brokers and agents to undertake the following procedures effective 01 July 2022:
1. Purchase and sale transactions of Freehold real estate, according to the description and determination of the law of each emirate, in carrying out any single physical cash transaction or several transactions equal or exceeding AED 55,000 for the entire, or a portion, of the property value:
- Obtain and record identification documents (Emirates ID, or Passport copy).
- Obtain and record receipts, invoices, contracts and Purchase & Sale Agreement.
- Submit a ‘Real Estate Transaction Report’ (“REAR”) via the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (“FIU”) goAML platform.
- Purchase and sale transactions of Freehold real estate where the method of payment is a virtual asset for a portion or the entire property value:
Obtain and record identification documents (Emirates ID, or Passport copy).
Obtain and record receipts, invoices, contracts and Purchase & Sale Agreement.
Submit a ‘Real Estate Transaction Report’ (“REAR”) via the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (“FIU”) goAML platform.
2. Purchase and sale transactions of Freehold real estate where the method of payment is a virtual asset for a portion or the entire property value:
- Obtain and record identification documents (Emirates ID, or Passport copy).
- Obtain and record receipts, invoices, contracts and Purchase & Sale Agreement.
- Submit a ‘Real Estate Transaction Report’ (“REAR”) via the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (“FIU”) goAML platform.
3. Purchase and sale transactions of Freehold real estate where the funds used to carry out the transaction were converted from a virtual asset for a portion or the entire property value:
- Obtain and record identification documents (Emirates ID, Passport).
- Obtain and record receipts, invoices,contracts and Purchase & Sale Agreement.
- Submit a ‘Real Estate Transaction Report’(“REAR”) via the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (“FIU”) goAML platform.
4. If the buyer or seller are legal person(s), identification documents must include the following:
- Trade License;
- Articles of Association;
- Register of Beneficial Owners;
- Emirates ID or passport copy for all Beneficial Owners; and
- Emirates ID or passport copy for all shareholders/partners.
5. If the buyer or seller are natural person(s), identification documents must include the following:
- Valid Emirates ID or Passport copy
6. Keep records of all documents and information related to the above transactions for minimum period of (5) years
7. Note that submissions of REARs does not exempt you from your existing obligations to submit the following types of reports via goAML:
- Suspicious Transaction Report (STR);
- Suspicious Activity Report (SAR);
- Funds Freeze Report (FFR);
- Partial Name Match Report (PNMR);
- High Risk Country Report (HRC); and
- High Risk Country Activity Report (HRCA).