Qatar mainland: corporate bank account opening
Corporate account checks for QCB-supervised banks under Qatar's AML law and implementing regulations.
Qatar mainland · Banks · Qatar Central Bank
Corporate customers, including overseas companies · Account opening: AML/CDD review
By Matthew Lee
Obtain commercial-registration particulars, the constitution, addresses and management details. The Qatar registry guide distinguishes Ministry of Commerce and Industry records from QFC records. A QFC company can apply to a mainland bank; that bank's CDD remains subject to its QCB framework.
Owners and account authority
Article 11 of Law 20 of 2019 requires customer and beneficial-owner identification, verification measures and an understanding of ownership and control. The implementing regulations include the 20%-or-more controlling-ownership test and subsequent control enquiries. Obtain records for the relevant corporate layers and control arrangements.
Verify the representative and authority. Request the account resolution or power of attorney and check the constitution and registered representation powers.
Activity and acceptance
Record the account purpose, expected payments, counterparties and funding. If another group company will make or receive payments on the customer's behalf, obtain the agreement establishing those rights and identify the participating entities.
Apply enhanced measures to higher-risk cases, including relevant PEP enquiries and approval, and resolve sanctions findings. Complete required verification under the applicable timing provisions before permitting activity.
Keep CDD current through ongoing monitoring. A reported transfer, new operator or unexplained change in payment destinations requires the affected evidence to be updated and reviewed.