The Corporate Veil

The General Principle

The majority of the commercial businesses currently operating in Qatar, whether wholly owned by Qatari nationals and/or by Qatari nationals in joint venture with foreign investors, are registered with limited liability and referred to as limited liability companies (LLC) in accordance with the provisions of Law No.(11) of 2015 (Companies Law).

LLCs have traditionally been seen as a safe option by investors on the basis of the general principle of the "corporate veil", a legal concept which separates the personality of the LLC from the personalities of its investors. Investors rely on this concept to limit their liability to the amount each has invested in the LLC. In exceptional circumstances however, generally involving fraud, the corporate veil may be "lifted" or "pierced" in order to directly access the investors.