Money for a transaction, held in a segregated, regulated escrow account until the conditions are met.
- Funds in a segregated escrow account with a licensed institution, named in the agreement
- Release conditions written down before anyone moves first
- Every dirham under a regulator's oversight, never mixed with Velarozone's own funds
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Who this is for
Four transactions where nobody wants to move first.
Escrow answers one question: who holds the money between signing and completion.
Transaction escrow keeps the money for a UAE share purchase, holdback, capital raise, paying-agent distribution, business sale, token sale or property completion in a segregated client money account until the agreement's conditions are evidenced. The account is with a licensed escrow institution overseen by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the DIFC's Dubai Financial Services Authority or the Central Bank of the UAE, depending on the transaction. Velarozone is not the escrow agent: it structures the deal, coordinates the parties and manages completion, and never mixes the funds with its own.
Where the money sits
Funds sit in a segregated client money account with a licensed escrow institution, under the oversight of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the DIFC's Dubai Financial Services Authority or the Central Bank of the UAE, depending on the transaction. They are never mixed with Velarozone's own funds and are released only against the conditions the escrow agreement sets.
If anyone presenting themselves as acting for us asks you to pay transaction money to any account other than the escrow account named in your agreement, stop and contact us through the details on this site.
Situation
Where neither side wants to move first.
Escrow answers one question: who holds the money between signing and completion. It comes up in four kinds of deal.
Buying or selling a UAE company
The buyer funds the escrow account at signing; the seller is paid once the share transfer is approved and registered.
→A holdback or an earn-out
Part of the price held for a period after completion, against warranties or a target.
→A capital raise
Each investor pays into the escrow account; the company receives the funds in a single release once the round closes.
→A property completion
A buyer with no UAE account funds the escrow account from abroad. The seller is paid when the Real Estate Registration Trustee registers the sale and the title deed issues.
→
Scope
What you get, and what we never do
What is included
- A transaction structure: parties, conditions, evidence for release and the sequence of completion.
- Coordination of the escrow agreement's drafting with UAE-licensed lawyers where the transaction needs bespoke terms.
- Each party's onboarding to the escrow account coordinated, so funding is not held up by due diligence.
- A completion checklist, run by us, covering every document, confirmation and filing.
- Coordination of release confirmations to the agent once the conditions are met.
- The corporate filings that follow completion: share transfers, register updates and authority amendments.
What is not
- Any movement of money outside the escrow agreement. Every dirham moves only on the conditions the parties signed.
- Legal advice on the agreement, which comes from the lawyers under the legal engagement.
- Property sourcing, valuation or brokerage.
- Any promise about a counterparty's performance or a release the conditions do not support.
What it costs
The escrow institution's fee, the firm's fee, and never a share of the funds.
No fee of ours is taken from the escrow funds; every fee is stated before signature by the party that earns it.
The escrow institution's fees
Set out in the escrow agreement, usually against the amount held and the period, and quoted to you before signature.
The Velarozone service fee
Scoping the transaction, coordinating the agreement, the lawyers and the escrow institution, and managing the conditions, itemised in your engagement letter.
Legal drafting
The escrow agreement is drafted by UAE-licensed lawyers under a legal engagement; its fee is set out in that engagement.
Property sales add Dubai Land Department's registration fees, payable by seller and buyer on the sale value.
Compared
A regulated escrow account against the ways money is usually held.
Paying on signing and a lawyer's client account both leave one party in control of the money. Escrow splits control: the institution holds the funds and the agreement releases them.
How the three answer the same four questions.
Who holds the money
- Regulated escrow account, arranged by Velarozone
- A licensed institution, in a segregated account, under the agreement
- A lawyer's client account
- The law firm
- Paying on signing
- The other side
Release
- Regulated escrow account, arranged by Velarozone
- On written conditions both sides signed
- A lawyer's client account
- On the lawyer's instruction
- Paying on signing
- Already happened
Regulated for the purpose
- Regulated escrow account, arranged by Velarozone
- Yes
- A lawyer's client account
- Under the law firm's own rules
- Paying on signing
- No
Fits best
- Regulated escrow account, arranged by Velarozone
- Share sales, raises, holdbacks, property completions
- A lawyer's client account
- Small sums inside a legal engagement
- Paying on signing
- Parties who already trust each other
| Regulated escrow account, arranged by Velarozone | A lawyer's client account | Paying on signing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money | A licensed institution, in a segregated account, under the agreement | The law firm | The other side |
| Release | On written conditions both sides signed | On the lawyer's instruction | Already happened |
| Regulated for the purpose | Yes | Under the law firm's own rules | No |
| Fits best | Share sales, raises, holdbacks, property completions | Small sums inside a legal engagement | Parties who already trust each other |
Process
How the work is sequenced
Each stage has its own dependencies and we report progress against them, not against one overall date.
- 01
Structure
We map the transaction, the parties and what has to be true before money moves, and write the release conditions in evidence terms.
- 02
Document and onboard
The escrow agreement is drafted and signed, and each party clears the due diligence the escrow account requires.
- 03
Fund
The paying party funds the segregated escrow account; receipt is confirmed to all parties.
- 04
Complete and release
Conditions are evidenced, confirmations delivered to the agent, funds released as the agreement directs, and the post-completion filings made.
How it works
Funds sit in a segregated client money account with a licensed escrow institution, under the oversight of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the DIFC's Dubai Financial Services Authority or the Central Bank of the UAE, depending on the transaction. The account is opened for your transaction, never mixed with Velarozone's own funds, and the money is released only against the conditions the escrow agreement sets. Each party completes the institution's due diligence before funding, and the institution's charges are set out in the escrow agreement.
Velarozone structures the transaction, coordinates the agreement and the parties and manages completion. That work is billed as the Velarozone service fee, itemised in your engagement letter, separately from the escrow charges and from any legal fees.
Licence and approvals
The question the escrow agent asks every party
An agent onboards each party under its own due diligence, and source of funds is the first thing it reads.
Common questions
Straight answers
- Where does the money sit while the conditions are met?
- In a segregated escrow account opened for your transaction with the licensed institution named in the escrow agreement. It is apart from every party's own funds and from Velarozone's, and it moves only against the conditions in that agreement. Each party completes the institution's due diligence before funding.
- Who holds the money, and under whose oversight?
- A licensed escrow institution, in a segregated client money account under the oversight of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the DIFC's Dubai Financial Services Authority or the Central Bank of the UAE, depending on the transaction, and never mixed with Velarozone's own funds. The institution, the account and the release conditions are all set out in the escrow agreement you sign before any money moves.
- Can a non-resident buy UAE property through escrow without a UAE bank account?
- Yes. The buyer's funds arrive from abroad into the segregated escrow account and are paid out at transfer. Dubai Land Department lists a manager's cheque among its payment methods for sale registration, alongside ePay, Dubai Pay and Noqodi Wallet, and the escrow account funds that payment, so the buyer needs no UAE account. A non-resident registers with a valid passport in place of an Emirates ID.
- What decides when the money is released?
- The conditions written into the escrow agreement, evidenced in the way the agreement specifies: a registered share transfer, a title deed, a closing certificate or a delivery confirmation. For a Dubai property sale, the electronic title deed that Dubai Land Department issues is the evidence. We write conditions the parties can satisfy and the escrow institution can verify.
- Can escrow be used for a token or digital-asset sale?
- Yes, where the transaction can be evidenced. Fiat consideration is held in the escrow account against delivery of the digital assets, and the release condition is designed around how that delivery is confirmed. Whether a particular transaction can be taken on is decided at onboarding, on the due diligence the account requires.
- When will the escrow service be available?
- The service is opening in stages. Register interest through the form on this page and we will tell you when yours can start and what the first step is for your transaction.
Register interest and describe the transaction
Tell us what is being bought, sold, raised or distributed, who the parties are and where the funds are coming from. We reply with the escrow shape we would propose and tell you when the service opens.
Free assessment: current figures are confirmed within your adviser-reviewed route comparison. Your details are not shared with third parties.
Know your route before you file.
Tell us how you intend to operate and we will identify the questions, structure paths and preparation steps an adviser should assess. It is a planning tool, not legal, tax, immigration or banking advice.
Sources
- ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority
- DIFC Dubai Financial Services Authority
- Central Bank of the UAE: Rulebook 3.3.2 on source of funds
- Dubai Land Department: property sale registration
Legal notes and scope
Velarozone provides setup and operational-readiness coordination. This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice.
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.
Escrow accounts are held with licensed institutions under their own authorisation and terms; Velarozone is not licensed as an escrow agent or a payment service provider and provides the structuring and coordination described on this page. The service opens in stages; registering interest creates no obligation on either side.