The attorney-general has advised the Registrar of Companies to extend the deadline for businesses updating the records with their ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) until the end of March.

Under a directive issued by the Registrar of Companies, all corporate entities should have filed their updated UBO data by December 31, 2023. Companies not complying would be fined €200 on January 1, 2024, and €100 per every continuing day of non-compliance.

The requirement is in line with EU legislation and would require around 200,000 registered corporations to update their records.

Thousands of companies however unable to do so, citing issues with the registrar’s website, which they say was inaccessible.

Registrar Ιrini Mylona-Chrysostomou told Politis that although a decision had been taken to grant the extension, the attorney-general’s legal opinion was necessary for the process.

Chrysostomou is expected to issue a directive on how to implement the deadline extension.