FINRA proposal to limit Associated Persons Acting for Customer Trusts   The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has recently proposed a rule (Rule 3241 “Registered Person Being Named a Customer’s Beneficiary or Holding a Position of Trust for a Customer”) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that aims “to create a uniform, national...Read More

Jersey redesigns its beneficial ownership register Jersey government is now reviewing a draft Bill (Financial Services, Disclosure and Provision of Information, Jersey Law 2020) regarding the establishment of a new central register of beneficial owners, controllers and significant persons. This was deemed necessary after the Jersey Financial Services Commission recommended the jurisdiction to enact new...Read More

Guernsey’s latest amendments to BO’s register regime After the introduction of the Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (Guernsey) Law 2017, emerged doubts regarding the implementation of many grey areas of the provision. Clarifications have now been provided by Guernsey’s legislative assembly through the amendment of the beneficial ownership reporting framework. The Beneficial Ownership register was...Read More

New Zealand finance bill amending trusts’ tax treatment New Zealand has introduced a further finance Bill in order to ease economic recovery after the global pandemic crisis. The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020–21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill will include measures aimed at deterring speculative investment in land, also amending several rules regarding trusts’...Read More

EU adds Barbados, Panama and The Bahamas to money laundering blacklist On 7 May 2020, the European Commission adopted an action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing. The action plan builds on six pillars: Effective implementation of existing rules A single EU rulebook EU-level supervision A support and...Read More