By Chara Paraskeva
By way of a recent development and announcement by the official website of the Registrar of Companies, partnerships registered with the Registrar of Companies by virtue of article 50 of Partnerships and Business Names Law Cap.116 (the “Law”), are deemed to be “other legal entities”. Consequently, the details of the beneficial owners of partnerships are required to be registered in the Central Registry of Beneficial Owners, maintained by the Registrar, in accordance with the Prevention and Suppression of Money laundering and Terrorist Financing Law 188(I)/2007 (the “AML Law”) as amended.
The Attorney General’s decision is considerably interesting, as the predominant view in Cyprus was that partnerships fall outside the definition of “legal entities” of AML law, by virtue of the definition of “partnerships” itself in article 5 of the Law”. Nevertheless, following the Registrar’s announcement on 6th August 2021 the Registrar announced that following the legal opinion from the Attorney General, all partnerships (general and limited) which are registered with the Registrar are under the same disclosure obligation as limited liability companies incorporated under Companies Law Cap.113.
The Registrar’s announcement further clarified that the existing capabilities of the Central Registry of Beneficial Owners does not enable the registration of beneficial owners’ details by partnerships. Nevertheless, adjustments to the Central Registry are expected to be implemented so that the registration can commence as of beginning of October this year.
It is confirmed however that the procedure for submission of the information regarding partnerships will be the same with the procedure applicable in relation to companies.
Following a recent circular distributed by the Registrar of Companies, the timeframe for submission of beneficial owners’ details has been extended to 12th March 2022.
For any clarifications or assistance with registration beneficial owners’ details with the Registrar of Companies, feel free to speak to Tatiana Marchuk or Chara Paraskeva at contact@solsiduslaw.com
