Elias Neocleous Law 196(I)/2012 regulating companies providing administrative services and related matters, (the ASP Law), which established a licensing and supervision regime for providers of corporate and fiduciary services and transposed the provisions of Directive 2005/60/EC into national law, has been amended. It will now provide for registers of trusts subject to Cyprus law to be maintained by the three bodies responsible for supervising service providers, namely the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Cyprus Bar Association, and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (the competent authorities). Section 3(7) of the ASP Law requires trustees and service providers who fall within its scope to identify and verify the main stakeholders in trusts governed by Cyprus law that they establish or administer. They must keep accurate and up-to-date information and documentation regarding the trustee, settlor, beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries, any protector, fund manager, accountant, tax consultant, and any other person exercising effective control over the trust, and on the activities of the trust.
December 11 2013