Further to our article on the Proposed amendments to the Companies Act, 2015, the Companies Registrar notifies all officers of companies that the Beneficial Ownership (BO) E-Register has been operationalized, with effect from 13th October, 2020. All companies are therefore required to submit their BO registers within 30 days of their preparation.
This is pursuant to Legal Notice No. 12- The Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations (2020) (the “Regulations”).
The Regulations define a beneficial owner to be a natural person who meets any of the following conditions:
- Holds, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the issued shares;
- Exercises, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the voting rights;
- Holds, directly or indirectly, a right to appoint or remove a director; or
- Exercises, directly or indirectly, significant influence or control.
Conversely, beneficial ownership information shall not be made available to the public. However, a competent authority may, upon making a written request, access such information. A competent authority includes the Attorney General, any criminal investigation agency, law enforcement agencies and authorities that supervise and monitor the financial sector, including the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The public notice can be accessed here.
Please contact us at info@cfllegal.com should you require further information.
