Enforcement of beneficial ownership filings and securities registers

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) implemented a beneficial ownership register from 01 April 2023 on a voluntary basis. The filing of beneficial ownership filings and securities/beneficial interest registers became mandatory from 24 May 2023 upon promulgation of the Amended Companies Regulations to give full effect to the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022.
We have noted that several entities which were supposed to file their beneficial ownership information and securities registers have not filed as required. This notice serves as a reminder for those entities who have not filed, to file accordingly and not wait for the annual return anniversary period.
The Commission will continue engaging the entities to enforce filing of their beneficial ownership information. The Commission will also continue to conduct inspections to verify if the filed beneficial ownership information that is on our records corresponds with records kept by respective entities.

Failure to comply will lead to a formal investigation and the issuance of compliance notices, and/or a court sanctioned administrative fine.