A public consultation over the future of Bermuda’s beneficial ownership register closed yesterday, with respondents including feedback on who industry professionals feel should have legitimate access.

The consultative paper has advised that legislative action to deal with the changes for Bermuda’s register will include a new Act of Parliament this year.

The Registrar of Companies had been accepting responses to its consultation over Bermuda’s Central Register of Beneficial Ownership since November.

The consultation was on the proposals to enhance Bermuda’s existing beneficial ownership regime in accordance with the revised Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 24 and consolidate the regime under the framework of a single Act.

The proposals confirm a beneficial owner as an individual who ultimately owns or controls 25 per cent or more of a company's shares or voting rights, or typically who otherwise exercises control over the company or its management.

The proposals also seek to extend access to the central register to obliged entities as well as persons who can demonstrate a legitimate interest having regard to the European Union Sixth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive and international best practice.

It also transfers the central register from the Bermuda Monetary Authority to the Registrar of Companies.

The document notes: “Bermuda has proven its reputation as a jurisdiction committed to sound financial regulation, compliance with international standards on beneficial ownership and transparency, and international co-operation.

“It continues to be recognised as having one of the most effective anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regimes in the world, and a longstanding beneficial ownership record-keeping and vetting framework.”

In 2020, the Government committed to table in Parliament proposals to establish public access to the register within a year of the European Union publication of an Implementation Review of the Fifth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive.

But the European Court of Justice ruled against the EU initiative that would have allowed the registers to open in all cases to any member of the public. The court held that such total transparency was inconsistent with fundamental privacy and data protection rights.

The EU’s Sixth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive now requires of EU member states that access by the public is to be made conditional on the demonstration of a legitimate interest.

The subsequent revised government policy follows that lead, and expects to be fully compliant by July 10, 2026, after phases of implementation.

The consultation paper said: “The Government therefore intends to facilitate timely access to the central register by financial institutions and designated non-financial business persons, collectively referred to as obliged entities, to facilitate compliance with customer due diligence obligations, and to support any supplementary verification efforts, subject to adequate data protection and privacy safeguards.”

The Government is targeting Q2 2025 for the implementation of obliged entity access, followed by the implementation of legitimate interest access by Q3 2026.

The consultation also proposes measures to satisfy obligations under the revised FATF international standards on the beneficial ownership and key recommended actions identified by the Caribbean Financial Task Force.

The consultation paper said: “This proposal will have significant legislative consequences as it requires the repeal of several legislative provisions, including the relevant parts of the Companies Act 1981 and related Acts, and the Exchange Control Regulations 1973, with the appropriate provisions, on repeal, consolidated under the framework of the single Act.

“The Government intends for the single Act to be in place by Q1 of 2025, with regulations governing, in the first instance, access to obliged entities by Q2 2025.”

• For more on Consultation: Bermuda’s Central Register of Beneficial Ownership Information of Legal Persons, please see Related Media