Deadline for registering UBOs extended

A deadline for registering ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) for all companies has been re-extended on Wednesday, according to a decision by the department of the registrar of companies.

The deadline has been re-extended by another month from the end of February to the end of March, the registrar said.

According to the announcement of the registrar, the deadline has been extended for the “optimal update” of the register’s digital platform.

After this date, non-compliant companies and other legal entities will be subject to penalties according to the prevention of money laundering law.

Last week, the registrar and the commerce ministry had come under intense pressure from professional organisations, including the Bar Association, the Chamber of Commerce (Keve), the accountants’ association (Selk) and the Cyprus International Business Association, as well as from deputies of all parties, to review its policy that had resulted in hefty fines being imposed on businesses, after failing to register before the New Year.

On Friday, the general secretary of Keve, Marios Tsiakkis called on the commerce ministry to review the “debilitating and irrational” fines being imposed on businesses for their alleged failure to register their businesses by January 1, of this year.

A fine of €200 was imposed on every beneficial owner, who failed to post this information on a platform set up by the Registrar of Companies, by 1 January 2024, and €100 for every day after that. A company with one UBO, that had not registered on the platform by Friday, for example would owe the state €1,300.