Changes to the Cayman Islands Beneficial Ownership Regime

The New BO Regime extends the scope of entities required to maintain a BO Register by including limited partnerships and removing a number of exemptions, while also consolidating the requirements in a single statute and reducing duplication of reporting where one Cayman Islands entity holds a reportable interest in another.

Expanded scope

The New BO Regime expands its scope to include all registered Cayman Islands entities, including limited partnerships. Overseas entities registered as foreign companies or foreign limited partnerships, as well as Cayman Islands trusts, remain out of scope.

The scope of persons that may fall within the definition of “beneficial owner” has been expanded outside the chain of legal ownership and control to include individuals who exercise control in practice. Additionally, where no individual beneficial owner can be identified, entities must now include details of a senior managing official.

Exemptions have generally been removed, and in some cases replaced with an alternative route to compliance. These changes will most significantly affect Cayman Islands investment funds and other entities within a fund structure, such as general partners, carry vehicles and SPVs. The alternative route to compliance (i.e. notification of certain required particulars rather than maintaining a beneficial ownership register) will only be available for:

• entities or subsidiaries of entities listed on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange or another approved stock exchange,
• entities licensed under a Cayman Islands regulatory law, and
• mutual funds or private funds regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”).

Impact for investment funds

Cayman Islands investment funds registered with CIMA can choose the alternative route to compliance by nominating a Contact Person to hold up to date information on their beneficial owners that can be provided to the relevant Cayman Islands authorities within 24 hours of any request. The Contact Person must be a Cayman Islands fund administrator or other entity licensed by CIMA. If a fund is unable to identify a Contact Person, it can instead elect to maintain a BO Register.

Other entities within fund structures that previously benefited from exemptions which have now fallen away or that now fall within scope of the New BO Regime as limited partnerships, will likely need to maintain a BO Register for the first time.

Next steps

Our team is currently reviewing the details of all our registered office clients to determine which entities are required to take action. A member of our team will be in touch in the coming months to request any required information.

We recommend that all our investment fund clients speak to their existing administrator (where applicable) to determine if the administrator has a Contact Person available for their clients. Clients without an administrator or with an administrator unable to provide a Contact Person should get in touch with their usual Carey Olsen contact to discuss alternatives.

Transition Period

Although the New BO Regime is now in force, enforcement of the new requirements will not commence until January 2025.

开曼群岛的实益所有权制度变更

引言

2024 年 7 月 31 日，开曼群岛 2023 年《实益所有权透明度法案》（以下简称“实益所有权法案”）将于2024 年《实益所有权透明度条例》（以下简称“实益所有权条例”）一同生效。与此同时，开曼群岛公司注册处在其网站上发布了《关于在开曼群岛履行实益所有权义务的指导》（以下简称“实益所有权指导”）。实益所有权法案、实益所有权条例和实益所有权指导中更新的要求（以下简称“新实益所有权制度”）取代了目前正在施行的维护实益所有权登记册（以下简称“实益所有权登记册”）的相关要求。

新实益所有权制度扩大了需要维护实益所有权登记册的实体范围，纳入了有限合伙企业，并取消了一些豁免，同时将这些新要求合并成单独一项成文法，并减少了当一个开曼群岛实体持有另一个开曼群岛实体权益时应报告相关权益的重复问题。

适用范围扩大

新实益所有权制度扩大了其适用范围，纳入了在开曼群岛注册的所有实体，包括有限合伙企业。注册为外国公司或外国有限合伙企业的海外实体以及开曼群岛信托仍然不适用该制度。

可能符合“实益所有人”定义的主体范围有所扩大，并超出了法律所有权和控制权，以便纳入在实践中实际行使控制权的个人。此外，如果无法确定个人实益所有人的身份，该等实体根据新实益所有权制度必须提供实体高管的详细信息。

实益所有权登记豁免已普遍取消，在特定情况，豁免替换成了需要通过替代合规途径来满足合规要求。这些变更对开曼群岛投资基金和其他采用基金结构的实体（如普通合伙人、附带权益实体和特殊目的实体）的影响最为重大。替代合规途径（即根据要求提供特定详细信息，而非维护实益所有权登记册）仅适用于：

• 在开曼群岛证券交易所或其他获得批准的证券交易所上市的实体或其子公司；
• 根据开曼群岛监管法律获得许可的实体；以及
• 受开曼群岛金融管理局（以下简称“CIMA”）监管的共同基金或私募基金。

对投资基金的影响

在 CIMA 注册的开曼群岛投资基金可以选择替代合规途径，指定一名联系人保管其实益所有人的最新信息，并在收到任何请求后的 24 小时内提供给相关开曼群岛当局。该联系人必须是开曼群岛基金管理人或获得 CIMA 许可的其它实体。如果基金无法指定联系人，则可以选择维护实益所有权登记册。

以前受益于豁免（现已取消）的其它采用基金结构的实体，或如今在新实益所有权制度适用范围内的有限合伙企业，可能需要首次维护实益所有权登记册。

后续行动

我们的团队目前正在审查所有我们作为注册代理客户的详细信息，以确定哪些实体需要采取行动。我们将在未来几个月与这些客户联系，请求提供任何所需信息。

我们建议所有投资基金客户与其现有管理人（如适用）沟通，以确定该管理人是否为其客户指定了联系人。客户如果没有管理人或管理人无法提供联系人，应联系其经常合作的凯瑞奥信 (Carey Olsen) 联系人，一起讨论替代方案。

过渡期

虽然新实益所有权制度现已生效，但直到2025 年 1 月起才会开始执行这些新要求。

请注意，本简报旨在对所涉事项提供非常一般化的概述。其并不构成法律意见，因此不得以此为依据。© 凯瑞奥信 2024 年