US LLC owns Cyprus LTD - for privacy UBO is not possible to see?

[Boxer]

Is making US LLC owner of Cyprus LTD will hide UBO from public?

If officials can see it - it's totally fine. Just don't want my personal name to appear in EU registry for public.

 

[Sols]

Cyprus does not currently have a public UBO register. Only the government can see.

Once the UBO register becomes public again, having an LLC as parent company will simply mean‌ that instead of declaring the company's shareholder as UBO you have to declare the company's‍ shareholder's owner's name.

UBO. The U stands for Ultimate.

You can add a million holding⁠ companies. It changes nothing.

 

[bubbledouble]

Same I wanted to say as @Sols - maybe @CyprusLawyer101 or @CyprusLaw can confirm.

 

[CyprusLaw]

So, the UBO Register in Cyprus can be accessed directly by the competent authorities, or‌ by persons paying a nominal fee of Euro 3.5 and accepting, online, a declaration, that‍ they have an obligation under the AML Law to get this information. This would be⁠ for example, auditors, services providers etc

 

[CTChris]

I agree with CyprusLaw. Obliged entities such as service providers, auditors, by submitting a declaration‌ and paying the small fee of EUR3.50 can receive information on the UBO(s). Thus it‍ may be a good option (at least for the time being) to consider setting up⁠ a Cyprus International Trust to hold the shares of the Cyprus company. Again the Trusts⁤ have an obligation to submit the UBOs in the CyTBOR (Cyprus Trust Beneficial Owners registry)⁣ however it is not so easy for the obliged entities (services providers/accountants etc.) to receive⁢ such information as the Trustee's consent, among others, will need to be obtained.

 

[alain]

For an authority it won't be difficult to get UBO information about a company in‌ Cyprus.

 

[john44]

Would be curious to⁤ know the extent of the UBO information held on the UBO register that would be⁣ visible to a person with a bona fide reason to view this? Presumably full legal⁢ name as minimum but would other items such as DOB, country of birth, country of︀ residence etc also be open to view?

Is a UBO able/entitled to know who has︁ obtained their information via the UBO register?

 

[CyprusLaw]

You can see the name, DOB, citizenship, country of residence and the type/extent of⁢ ownership in the relevant company.

A UBO would not be able to know about the︀ search, unless this is presented to him by the applicant himself, for example in court︁ or other proceedings.

 

[bubbledouble]

how if it is googled ?

 

[CyprusLaw]

what do you mean?‌

 

[bubbledouble]

These days, you can find many UBOs just by searching Google or through various public‌ databases that show up in search results.

For example, with Georgian companies, you can even‍ find passport copies online. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t take much effort to identify the⁠ real owners behind a Cyprus company either.

 

[CyprusLaw]

In order to⁤ get access to details of the UBO you need to pay a small fee and⁣ also make a declaration that you have the right to obtain the information. So even⁢ though it is easy, it's not as easy as you described.

 

[bubbledouble]

That’s absolutely true, but if you’re trying to track someone down,⁤ or you’re handing the info over to a detective, the police, or any other authority,⁣ then it doesn’t really matter.
I’ve personally used it with great success, combined with AI,⁢ to uncover someone’s exact identity and pass it on to the authorities.

 

[alley]

As I recall from a few years ago, you could pay‍ a small fee to access the UBO information for a Cyprus company.

 

[Sols]

Cyprus closed‍ theirs shortly after that court ruling in Luxembourg which found UBO registries can be in⁠ breach of GDPR.

https://www.occrp.org/en/news/cyprus-launches-new-registry-that-identifies-company-owners

https://www.investigate-europe.eu/posts/public-access-to-ubo-abolished-by-european-court-of-justice

 

[alley]

Ah, I thought there was something about that, but I wasn’t sure.

Thanks for clarifying.‌