Cyprus. A centralised Register of Beneficial Owners

With the constant strengthening of AML regulation and enhancing transparency around the globe and in compliance with the provisions of the 4th AML European Directive (EU 2015/849) and 5th AML European Directive (EU 2018/843), the Cyprus Council of Ministers on 16th December 2020, has resolved to appoint the Registrar of Companies (“ROC”) as the competent authority to maintain a centralised Register of Beneficial Owners (“UBO”) of companies and other legal entities.

The Registrar of Companies (Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry) is the competent authority to maintain a centralised Register of Beneficial Owners of companies and other legal entities registered in Cyprus.

For the purposes of the companies, “Beneficial Owner” is defined as any natural person that is directly or indirectly the ultimate owner of 25% + 1 share or has the ultimate control or participatory interest of over 25% in the company/entity.

For the purposes of the trusts, “Beneficial Owner” is defined as any natural person that controls the Trust (i.e. the controlling person). This includes the Settlor, the Trustee, the Protector and the Beneficiaries.

Access to the Register of Beneficial Owners is available to general public, as well as “obliged entities” (credit and financial institutions, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors, notaries and other independent legal professionals, trust or company service providers, estate agents, providers of gambling services and other persons trading in goods to the extent that payments are made or received in cash in an amount of EUR 10.000,00 or more).

To receive information on beneficial owners, interested parties can submit an application for Beneficial Ownership report to the Department, together with a fixed fee of €3.50 per entity. Please note that the application must include the name and registration number of the company or other legal entity, as well as an e-mail address for reply purposes.

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