Bermuda’s Beneficial Ownership Register to be made Accessible to the Public in 2022
The Government of Bermuda has announced that it will pass legislation making the companies central register of beneficial ownership information accessible to the public in 2022.
Bermuda has kept records of the owners of companies for about 70 years, with the information only available to government authorities. On 23 March 2018, the Government enacted legislation requiring all companies, limited liability companies and partnerships to gather and maintain a register of beneficial ownership, a copy of which is maintained in a central beneficial ownership register maintained by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and is accessible only by the Registrar of Companies on request.
The decision is a clear indication of the Government’s resolve to continue Bermuda’s commitment to adopt and implement the international corporate transparency standards promulgated by the Financial Action Task Force and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the misuse of corporate vehicles.
In a statement the Minister of Finance, The Hon. Curtis Dickinson JP, MP, expressed that Bermuda has always maintained a longstanding commitment to compliance with international standards on tax co-operation and transparency and that this announcement “underpins our commitment to ensure that Bermuda remains a jurisdiction of choice for quality and compliant business.”
The European Union is due to publish an Implementation Review of the 5th ALMD in January 2022. Within 12 months of that publication, the Government has announced it will bring forward legislation to enable public access to the beneficial ownership information of companies in Bermuda.
To review the full statement, please visit
https://bernews.com/2020/07/ownership-register-will-be-accessible-to-public/
