It depends on how the trust or foundation is classified. If it is a financial institution, it reports its own account holders. If it is a passive entity, its bank reports the people behind it.
Two possible classifications
A trust is often a financial institution if it earns mainly from financial assets and a financial institution manages it. Otherwise it is usually a passive entity. A foundation is an entity under CRS and goes through the same tests as a company. See Is my company a passive entity under CRS?
If the trust is a financial institution
The trust, or its trustee, reports the holders of equity interests in it. Under the UAE guidance, these include:
- anyone treated as a settlor;
- beneficiaries entitled to a mandatory distribution;
- beneficiaries who may receive a discretionary distribution;
- anyone else with ultimate effective control.
Some tax authorities, such as the BVI International Tax Authority, treat a discretionary beneficiary as reportable only in a year when a distribution is received.
If the trust is a passive entity
The bank holding the trust's account must report its controlling persons. For a trust, these are the settlors, trustees, any protectors, the beneficiaries or classes of beneficiaries, and anyone else with ultimate effective control. These roles count whether or not the person controls the trust in practice. For a foundation, banks identify those in equivalent or similar roles, using their anti-money laundering records.
An example
Giulia Rossi, an Italian national resident in Dubai, settled a trust years ago. A professional trust company is trustee and invests the trust fund in listed shares. The trust is likely to be a financial institution, so the trustee reports Giulia as settlor. Her nephew in Spain is a discretionary beneficiary. He is likely to be reported only in the year the trustee pays him a distribution.
Quick questions
Is a protector reported?
If the trust is a passive entity, yes, a protector is a controlling person. In a trust that is a financial institution, a protector is reported if they exercise ultimate effective control.
Does Fides set up or run trusts?
No. Fides does not form trusts or foundations or act as trustee. We advise on tax and reporting.
Sources: UAE Ministry of Finance, Guidance Notes for the Common Reporting Standard; UAE Ministry of Finance, CRS FAQs; BVI International Tax Authority, FAQs on investment entities.
General information as at October 2026, not advice. The examples are fictional and simplified, and the rules have conditions and exceptions not covered here. Take advice on your own circumstances, in each country involved, before acting.