Deadline for Registration to UBO Register for Trusts

08/09/2022

Further to our previous newsfeed on this, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) announced on 7 September 2022 that the deadline for submitting information to  the Cyprus Beneficial Ownership Register of Express Trusts and Similar Legal Arrangements (CyTBOR) is on 7 October 2022.

Trustees of express trusts or persons holding an equivalent position in similar legal arrangements (the ‘obliged entities’) have an obligation to register such entities to the CyTBOR by that date.

The announcement also stresses that as per the Prevention and Suspension of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007 as amended, the following penalties could be imposed in case of failure to provide the requested information within the set deadlines:

• Administrative penalty of €500,000, which could be increased to €1,000,000 in case of repetitive breaches.
• Imprisonment of up to 5 years and penalty of up to €350,000 for each person liable for the infringement.
• It is also reminded that in case of a legal person liable for the infringement, in addition to the legal person itself, any member of the board of directors of that legal person, the managing director, secretary or other official or other administrative organ of that legal person, who is proven to have consented to, or participated in, the commission of the offence will also be held liable.

Finally, it is mentioned that when entering a new business relationship with an express trust or similar legal arrangement, obliged entities should collect proof of registration or an excerpt of the beneficial ownership information held in CyTBOR.