The Commission’s Register of Beneficial Owners, once limited to law enforcement and statutory bodies, will soon be open to a wider circle, including certain foreign authorities and individuals with a legitimate interest. Here’s what TCI companies need to know.
Expanding Access: What Businesses Need to Know About the New Rules
Under the 2017 rules, and as amended in 2024, the Commission’s Register of Beneficial Owners was searchable only at the request of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, the Financial Intelligence Agency, and other designated statutory bodies.
Access was tightly controlled, only three senior officers of the Registry of Companies could view the Register, which was not open to third parties.That is changing.
The latest amendments introduce broader access, extending eligibility to approved foreign authorities and members of the public with a legitimate interest. The goal is to align TCI with global transparency standards while maintaining safeguards for privacy and personal security.
For company owners, directors, and advisors, now is the time to ensure beneficial ownership details are accurate and current, and to understand the process for objecting to disclosure when safety or confidentiality concerns arise.
Company Beneficial Ownership in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Spotlight: The evolution of increased disclosure
Introduction
Beneficial ownership requirements for companies have followed a clear upward trend in transparency in recent years. In a recent publication, I outlined key updates to disclosure and access provisions introduced in the Turks and Caicos Islands (the “TCI” or the “Islands”) pursuant to the Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (“Regulations”) under the Companies Act (CAP 16.08) (the “Act”). These reforms broadened access to beneficial ownership data, making it available to foreign competent and law enforcement authorities, as well as certain parties demonstrating a legitimate interest in the information. At the same time, registrable persons were afforded an option to restrict access or disclosure on specified grounds.
On July 31, 2025, the TCI adopted the Companies (Amendment) Act 2025 (“Amendments”), introducing further enhancements to the scope of beneficial ownership obligations. The following summary reviews these extended obligations, including disclosure obligations on foreign companies, clarification of definitions relating to beneficial owners and registrable persons, expanded responsibilities for companies and registrable individuals, and widened parameters for disclosure with associated penalties.
Covered Companies
Those companies to which the beneficial ownership rules apply under the Act (“Covered Companies”) remain those domestic company authorized to issues shares, whether limited, unlimited or limited by guarantee. The previous rules excluded foreign companies and publicly traded company listed on an approved exchange. These Amendments now extend to foreign companies within its scope while excluding publicly traded company listed on a recognised exchange. The term “recognized” is not defined in the Amendments. Foreign companies are now therefore required to comply with the beneficial ownership rules under the Act.
The Amendments also clarify that the threshold to determine a beneficial owner is found in the threshold set out in each respective piece of legislation.
Clarification on Registrable Persons
Registrable person is now expressly limited to a natural person who is a beneficial owner of a Covered Company. A registrable person no longer includes a corporation sole, local or foreign government or department thereof or an international organization with two or more country or government members (or as prescribed). Simply, a registrable person is an individual who is a beneficial owner of a Covered Company.
Obligations of Companies to Cooperate
The Amendments require Covered Companies to cooperate with certain entities. A Covered Company must assist a domestic competent authority with designated responsibility for combatting money laundering or terrorist financing to identify a beneficial owner and provide that information at such times as may be specified. They must also cooperate with a financial business, as defined in the Anti-Money Laundering and Provident of Territorist Financing Regulations, to provide adequate, accurate and update information beneficial ownership information.
Guidance is provided in the Amendments to determine adequate and accurate beneficial ownership information. Adequate beneficial ownership information is information sufficient to identify a registrable beneficial owners or trustee and the means and mechanisms through which beneficial ownership or control is exercised. In respect to those requirements under the Act to keep a beneficial ownership register, accurate beneficial ownership information must be verified to confirm its accuracy by a person who supplied or confirmed the information, with another person’s knowledge or as provided on incorporation.
Changes to Keeping the Information Up to Date
Covered Companies now have no more than 30 days after learning a person stopped being a registrable person or any other details that render the beneficial ownership register incorrect or incomplete to request confirmation of that change by a registrable person. No changes have been made to the threshold of knowledge or reasonable cause to believe these changes occurred.
An additional amendment to the requirement for Covered Companies to keep their beneficial ownership information up to date, the specific content of the up-to-date information is set out. The change must be recorded in a prescribed form and manner, and include the details of the relevant change, as the legal person confirms, the date of the change and any further changes. A relevant change is determined when the person listed as an owner is no longer considered an owner of the Covered Company or another change makes the details recorded about that person in the covered Company’s beneficial ownership register incorrect, incomplete or not current.
Confirmation of a relevant change occurs when notice is made by to the registrable person of the relevant change, the date and the additional details within 30 days of the date of the notice and these three sets of details are confirmed by the registrable person or someone with knowledge of the registrable person.
There is a corresponding obligation on a registrable person to notify a Covered Company, within 30 days of discovering a relevant change, of the relevant change, with the date of the change and any additional information required to update the Covered Company’s beneficial ownership register.
Further Expansion of Permitted Disclosures
Permitted disclosures now extend to additional domestic regulators and foreign competent authorities, broadening the reach of information sharing. Disclosure of the beneficial ownership information has been expanded to the following:
- the Gaming Control Commission;
- the Border Force Department;
- the Civil Aviation Authority; and
- a foreign beneficial ownership competent authority similar to the Commission or a foreign competent authority that combats money laundering or terrorist financing.
The beneficial ownership information disclosed to a regulated financing business and designated non-financial business and profession is limited to details, such as name, country of residence, nationality, date of birth for individual and name, registered office, legal form, registration number and nature of control for a company.
Summary
The practical impact of these Amendments is that we are seeing more robust reporting obligations in respect to ownership and control for companies. The regulators are exerting stronger tools to monitor compliance and align corporate practices with international anti-money laundering and transparency standards.
This article, by Ayanna Ferdinand Catlyn, builds on our earlier overview of TCI’s beneficial ownership regime and outlines what these latest changes mean for businesses across the jurisdiction.