UAE: Cooperatives Decree-Law Issued

Al Bayan, 27 September 2022: The UAE’s President has issued Federal Decree-Law No. 6/2022 regarding cooperatives.

Its provisions will apply to established or existing cooperatives when the Decree-Law is issued.

The Decree-Law aims to improve the role of cooperatives in achieving sustainable development, regulate the licensing and work of the cooperative sector and its activities in the country and enable community members to establish cooperatives.

Under the Decree-Law, cooperatives can allocate a percentage of their annual profits or accumulated profits to social responsibility after the approval of the competent authority and the issuance of a decision by the General Assembly.

The cooperative must also disclose its profits on its website.

The Cabinet will issue the Implementing Regulations to the Law based on a Ministerial proposal within six months from the implementation date.

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UAE: Penalties for Keeping Lost Property Clarified

Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates), 22 September 2022: The UAE’s Public Prosecution has clarified the penalties imposed on individuals who find lost property and keep it for themselves.

Under Article 454 of Federal Decree-Law No. 31/2021, they will be jailed for up to two years or fined at least 20,000 AED.

Those who find lost and/or abandoned property must give the property or money to the police within 48 hours and may not take ownership of them.

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UAE: Fines for Illegal Stay Clarified

Alkhaleej, 23 September 2022: The UAE authorities have clarified the fines imposed on those who stay illegally in the country.

Under the Implementing Regulations to the Law on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners, offenders will be fined 100 AED each day they stay illegally in the country.

In some cases, the fines will be imposed from the day following the expiry of the period in which the individual is permitted to reside in the country after their residence permit is cancelled or has expired.

A decision will be issued by the Chairman of the relevant Authority for each category of residents to determine those periods, provided they do not exceed six months from the date of cancellation or expiry of the residence permit in total.

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UAE to Enforce Rulings by UK Courts

Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates), 21 September 2022: The UAE’s Justice Ministry has issued a Decision to ensure judgments issued by English courts are enforced in the country.

Under the Decision, courts in the UAE have to take all of the legal steps required to acknowledge and enforce orders by English courts.

The Decision covers financial cases and asset division disputes between couples or family members.

Before being submitted to a judge at one of the country’s civil courts, an English court ruling must be final and irrevocable.

UK rulings must not conflict with a UAE court judgment.

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UAE: Penalties for Companies Failing to Comply with Changing Trade Name Rules Clarified

Alkhaleej, 19 September 2022: The penalties for companies failing to comply with changing trade name rules have been clarified.

Under Cabinet Decision No. 78/2022 related to the list of administrative sanctions for acts committed in violation of Federal Decree-Law No. 32/2021 regarding commercial companies, penalties will be imposed on companies and institutions operating in the UAE in the event of non-compliance with changing their trade name.

Violating companies and institutions will be fined 500 AED a month and up to 10,000 AED annually.

Limited liability companies will be fined 500 AED a month and up to 5,000 AED annually.

Private and public joint stock companies will be fined 1,000 AED a month and up to 10,000 AED annually.

The fine will be calculated after the expiration of 30 working days from the date of notification of the decision.

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UAE: Judgments From Great Britain and Northern Ireland Can be Enforced

The UAE’s Justice Ministry has announced that judgements issued in Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be enforced in the UAE.

They can be in line with the reciprocity principle in the Treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates on Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters.

This principle is contained in Article 85 of Cabinet Decision No. 57/2018.

The move follows the English Courts’ enforcement of a Dubai judgement in the case of Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC v Puri (2020) EWHC 75 (QB) (Lenkor).

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Abu Dhabi Global Market Approves Amendments to Insolvency Practitioner Framework

The Registration Authority of Abu Dhabi’s Global Market has approved amendments to its insolvency practitioner framework.

The amendments will allow more insolvency practitioners to be active within the IFC. They will also improve the role of the Registration Authority in monitoring and regulating these practitioners and provide more protection for insolvent parties and creditors.

The amendments have been approved to reinforce the Global Market’s alignment with international best practices.

Previously practitioners had to obtain a licence and have a registered office address in the Global Market.

The new rules replace this requirement and allow eligible individuals to follow a straightforward registration mandate in the insolvency practitioners’ Register maintained by the Registrar. In addition, there is no annual renewal requirement. However, a registered insolvency practitioner must provide the Registrar with a yearly confirmation statement, confirming details of any appointments under the Insolvency Regulations 2022 and compliance with the Insolvency Practitioner Rules.

The amendments will significantly reduce the administrative burden on insolvency practitioners who want to be registered in the Global Market and encourage an increase in the number of registered practitioners.

The new Insolvency Practitioner Rules contain several registration requirements. These include being in continued employment with, or a member, director, or partner of a firm or corporate registered in or outside the Global Market, holding a membership with a recognised professional body, or satisfying specific ‘fit and proper’ criteria.

They must also provide evidence of insolvency experience.

Registered insolvency practitioners must obtain a security bond before any appointment under the IFC’s Insolvency Regulations.

Practitioners appointed as a liquidator are exempted from this requirement under Section 178 of the Insolvency Regulations.

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UAE: Economy Ministry Publishes New Policy for Responsible Sourcing of Gold

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has published the due diligence regulations for responsible sourcing of gold on its website. The regulations have been published in both Arabic and English.

They have published the regulations as part of their ongoing efforts to implement a more robust anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing system in the UAE.

It includes various controls and standards for dealers in precious metals and stones.

They were developed in line with the due diligence guidelines issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

They have been issued to improve the commitment of gold refineries and companies to implement the due diligence measures for responsible sourcing of gold.

This will help protect the interests of companies engaged in pre-manufactured bullion and gold-related activities from sanctions and administrative penalties for non-compliance in line with the Implementing Regulations to Federal Decree-Law No. 20/2018 on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations (Cabinet Decision No. 10/2019).

The policy obliges gold refiners to consider the risks of financial crimes when managing their relationships with suppliers and all other supply chain actors and ensuring suitable delivery and compliance.

They have to start to do this by creating and implementing robust governance management systems for the company or establishment in terms of the due diligence for sourcing gold by the company’s board of directors, or its equivalent acquiring the necessary knowledge and expertise or hiring external consultants and experts to establish these systems.

The controlled company or establishment must appoint a compliance officer who is directly accountable to the CEO or the equivalent, has access to the board of directors or equivalent, and is also responsible for the comprehensive management of the due diligence process.

The company must provide a training programme for everyone participating in the process of due diligence for the responsible sourcing of gold and establish a system of transparency, information sharing and control over the gold supply chain.

The company must compel suppliers to comply with the supply chain policies following the regulations, due diligence must be exercised before establishing a new business relationship with the supplier, and care must be taken to ensure continuity in the implementation.

They then have to identify and assess supply chain risk by performing due diligence to identify potential threats, identify risk indicators, including high-risk indicators in the gold supply chain and continuously monitor and report to senior management within the company or establishment.

In addition, they have to design and implement a management strategy to respond to identified risks by setting a risk-monitoring plan and carrying out independent third-party reviews of the refiner’s due diligence practices in line with the audit plan and annual audit principles and standards.

Finally, the controlled company or establishment must submit all supply chain due diligence audit reports annually to the Ministry of Economy. Accredited members working in line with the UAE Good Delivery Standard for Gold must also present accreditation reports to the Ministry annually to adhere to this policy’s reporting commitments.

Controlled companies and establishments have to implement the requirements of the regulation during an audit period from 1 January 2023.

They will also need to conduct a review 12 months after the beginning of the audit cycle and submit reports to the Ministry within 90 days of completing the review cycle.

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