Beneficial ownership laws enforced as from 1st January

Anyone in the financial services industry who is unaware of the revisions to Cayman’s beneficial ownership regime, how they impact private wealth structures, and the fact that they become enforceable as from 2025, ought to read the article by HSM in today’s edition.

Robert Mack, HSM Partner and Head of Private Client & Trusts writes that the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act 2023 came into force this year, compelling every Cayman Islands entity to maintain a register of beneficial owners in conjunction with their corporate service providers, to review and verify the information provided is accurate, and to report details of such beneficial owners to the competent authority on a monthly basis.  While these changes are now in force, industry has until 1 January 2025 to comply before enforcement commences, he advises.

Mr Mack advises that the consequences for non-compliance could be “dire” and that the steps and time required to accurately comply with the recent changes to the Cayman Islands beneficial ownership regime “should not be underestimated” especially in light of the looming enforcement deadline of 1 January 2025. 

He urges Trustees to identify any relevant entities in their trust structures, and then complete the analysis of their trust instruments and surrounding circumstances to ensure their reporting is accurate and complete at the entity level.

Directors of foundation companies and private trust companies should also conduct a similar exercise with respect to their constitutional documents and ownership structure to include an examination of circumstances surrounding the conduct of the administration of these entities to ensure accurate reporting, he states.

Read the article in full to see how the enforcement of this new legislation could impact you and your financial services business. Ensure you are up-to-speed with legal requirements well before the beginning of the enforcement of the law.