Swiss Parliament approves final draft of New Data Protection Act   On 25 September 2020, the Swiss Parliament approved the final draft of the revised Data Protection Act (rev-DPA), with...Read More

Royal Decree extends obligations for UBOs of Belgian legal entities   On September 23, 2020 a Royal Decree amending 2018 procedures on beneficial ownership (UBO) register of legal entities and...Read More

FINcontrol Suisse is the fourth supervisory body authorised by FINMA   On September 29, 2020, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) granted the authorization to FINcontrol Suisse SA to operate...Read More

Company register in Cayman Islands is officially open From October 1, 2020 the registers of companies and limited liability companies (LLCs) prescribed by the Companies (Amendment) (No.2) Law 2020 and...Read More

Threat of penalties for unreported transactions with foreign trusts as IRS launches new Audit Program   The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched a new program that puts under scrutiny...Read More

Directors of UK firms to be subject to mandatory verification   Following an announcement from the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), mandatory verification procedure involving prospective...Read More

The Swiss Parliament revises law on stock corporations   On June 19, 2020, the Swiss Parliament approved the revision of the Swiss law on stock corporations (Company Law), which aimed...Read More

Switzerland declares Privacy Shield with USA non-compliant   In light of the recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the protection of personal data in the...Read More

Taxes payable by cryptocurrency make Switzerland a leader in the implementation of crypto assets   Thanks to its collaboration with Bitcoin Swiss, Canton Zug announced that it will accept tax...Read More

US tackling shell companies’ money-laundering problem in new Defense Bill   Following persistent criticism of the Financial Action Task Force, regarding the lack of transparency of true owners of US...Read More

‘Res non-dom’ decreasing amid uncertainty in the UK   The recent release of HMRC’s annual update on non-domiciled (non-dom) taxpayers in the UK reveals the first signs of the so-called...Read More

FINMA releases clarification upon trustees’ licence   Following requests coming from various interest groups of the Swiss trust sector, FINMA recently released clarifications with respect to the information to be...Read More

Consultation over BO’s register continues in Jersey   After the enactment of the Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) Law, on July 14th, Jersey Government has started discussions over...Read More

HMRC demands unlimited access to taxpayers’ financial information   The draft Finance Bill 2020-2021 (coming as an amendment of the Schedule 36 powers in Finance Act 2008) seeks to introduce...Read More

New Bermuda Trusts Act grants more clearness to Bermuda Law users   Bermuda’s House of Assembly recently passed amendments to Bermuda’s Trusts Act 1989. The provision sees the strengthening of...Read More

More favourable conditions for Cypriot businesses with Swiss ties under new DTT   On 21st July 2020, Cyprus and Switzerland signed a protocol amending the 2014 double taxation agreement with...Read More

FINMA authorises SO-FIT as supervisory organisation under FinIA and FinSA   Earlier in July, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) granted the first authorizations to the Geneva-based Surveillance des...Read More

EU-US Privacy Shield invalidated by CJEU. Troubles for FATCA?   On July 20, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield arrangement (drafted in...Read More

UK government clarifies trust registration rules following 5AMLD Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published the outcome of a technical consultation on the implementation of the EU Fifth Anti-Money...Read More

Mass commitment for British Overseas Territories in the opening of beneficial ownership registers With the introduction of the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018, the UK government committed to issue...Read More