30/06/20

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Jurisdiction grants 'registered persons' exemption from beneficial ownership rules.

As published on internationalinvestment.net, Tuesday 30 June, 2020.

The Cayman Islands has said 'registered persons' are exempt from company beneficial ownership rules, meaning they will no longer be required to comply with either the Companies Law or Limited Liability Companies Law.

The change, which came into effect yesterday, means that all future company reporting for these 3,000 or so firms will be filed under the Cayman Securities Investment Business Law (SIBL).

The reporting rules will, however, be strictly enforced. Earlier this month, International Investment reported that, as of 29 June, any Cayman Islands registered company will be fined up to $30,500 for a single breach of the rules governing reporting of beneficial ownership. However, most fines will start at around $6,500.

Cayman Islands-registered persons will still be required to report to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) with details of at least two of their firms' directors and their corporate ownership.

Under Cayman legislation "registered persons" (previously referred to as "excluded persons") were allowed to provide investment and securities investment advice to HNWIs without obtaining a licence. This loophole has since been abolished following the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force's (CFATF) report earlier this year.