Companies must know their beneficial owners and are required to maintain beneficial ownership information at their registered office.
This reminder has come from acting Deputy Registrar at the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO), Casey Boyce.
She said the availability of beneficial ownership information helps to ensure that business entities are free from misuse of illicit activities, and therefore protects the legitimate financial system from illegitimately acquired funds.
“Beneficial ownership information is now a key requirement of international tax transparency in the fight against tax evasion and other financial crimes,” Ms. Boyce explained.
Beneficial owners are persons who ultimately own or control a company or other legal entity.
The Beneficial Ownership Guidelines, which were issued in July, 2021, by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs, provide guidance on this issue, specifically, the application and interpretation of the term “beneficial ownership”, and how to identify beneficial owners in various types of corporate structures. The guidelines may be accessed on the website www.caipo.gov.bb.
Companies must certify by way of their domestic annual return that accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information was maintained for the preceding year. Additionally, companies must also notify the Registrar of any changes to their beneficial ownership, within 14 days of the date of the change.
The Companies Act gives the Registrar of CAIPO the authority to ask a company to produce any books, records or other documents it is required to keep.
If a person fails to comply with guidelines to produce beneficial ownership information, he/she is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $100,000, or to imprisonment of a term of five years, or both. For queries on beneficial ownership, business persons may email caipo.general@caipo.gov.bb.