On 25 June last, the Minister for Finance signed S.I. No. 233/2020; The EU (Modifications of Statutory Instrument 110 of 2019) (Registration of Beneficial Ownership of Certain Financial Vehicles) Regulations 2020 bringing them into force.  Under these new regulations, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) will establish, A Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts, this is separate to the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies which is already place.

ICAVs, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts now have until 25 December 2020 to file their beneficial ownership register with the CBI.  Such entities authorised post 25 June 2020 will have six months from their date of authorisation to meet the requirements. Following the initial filing, subsequent updates to the register will need to be filed within 14 days of a change to the register occurring.

The new regulations contain a number of amendments and clarifications in respect of the in-scope entity types perhaps the most welcome of which is the removal of the verification requirement (by way of a PPS number or Ben2 form).

Amongst the other clarifications and amendments contained with the new regulations, they outline that in the case of a Unit Trust: –

• the management company will be responsible for discharging the Unit Trust’s obligations;
• the definition of a beneficial owner is amended to apply to a natural person who own more than 25 percent of units in the trust; and
• where no natural person is identified as a beneficial owner the obligation applying to list senior managing officials (e.g. directors) will not apply to Unit Trusts (as it does with other corporate entities).

Further details in respect of the filing process are awaited from the CBI. For more information see   https://www.centralbank.ie/regulation/anti-money-laundering-and-countering-the-financing-of-terrorism/beneficial-ownership-register

If not already in place, we would recommend that firms begin work on compiling registers for their in scope ICAVs and Unit Trusts as soon as possible noting that in some cases they have obligations to issue notices to possible UBO’s and related parties and that this process can be time consuming. Those who have already compiled UBO’ Registers should take this opportunity to review same to ensure that they are fully compliant (with supporting notices having been issued where relevant) and that everything is in order for filing. It’s also a good time to verify there is a process in-place to ensure updates beyond the initial filing are filed within the appropriate timeline.

Further awaited developments in respect of beneficial ownership registers

We note that it is expected that the beneficial ownership register being established by the CBI will in the future be updated to also include Investment Limited Partnerships and that a separate register will be established to record details of the beneficial ownership of trusts.  

About CGS

We here at Corporate Governance Solutions can provide a full company secretarial service, we are specialists in the provision of such services to regulated financial services firms. As part of this service (or on a standalone basis) we can assist firms and entities comply with their UBO requirements. We also provide a variety of other compliance and trustee services. If you require any of these services, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@Corporategs.ie.