The Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC) has announced the launch of its foundation regime (Foundations Regulations 2019). After ADGM – which introduced its own foundation regime on the 16th of August 2017 – and the DIFC – introduced on 14th March 2018 –, RAK ICC is the third jurisdiction within the UAE to extend its structuring and legacy planning offering with the adaption of the civil law based foundation regime.
The Foundation Regulations provide for very strong firewall rules and other mechanisms to protect the founder’s wishes and the foundation’s assets, and also allows for great flexibility as regards the founder’s powers.
Some of the regime’s key features include:
- Council Members (min. 2): appointment of corporate entities exclusively is allowed
- Privacy: the Registrar has been made private
- Flexibility: continuation (from RAK ICC company to RAK Foundation) as well as migration and amalgamation are allowed
- Registration: authorized Registered Agent and a registered office in the zone are mandatory
- Forum: one may opt for the either ADGM or DIFC Courts to be competent to hear disputes. Arbitration mechanisms are also allowed.
The present publication highlights the RAK ICC foundation’s key features, and compares the AGDM, DIFC and RAK ICC foundation regimes with similar offerings available internationally.