The Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (Guernsey) Law, 2017 came into force on 15 August 2017.

The Law establishes the Office of the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons, sets out the powers and functions of the Registrar, and imposes new duties on beneficial owners of legal persons and resident agents relating to the provision of information. The Law also makes appropriate amendments to the “relevant legal person Laws” – ie the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008, the Limited Liability Partnerships (Guernsey) Law, 2013 and the Foundations (Guernsey) Law, 2012 – and makes amendments to other legislation to ensure that the Guernsey Financial Services Commission has appropriate supervisory powers in respect of persons it regulates.

Under the regulation, a person or entity will be deemed to control a company if they hold, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the total shareholding or voting rights; or they hold the right to remove a majority of the board of directors (whether they meet the 25% threshold or not).