New order to lay bare owners of companies in Kenya
Business Registration Service Director-General Kenneth Gathuma. File | Nation Media Group
What you need to know:
- All officers and authorised persons of existing companies are required to comply and submit a copy of the beneficial ownership register within 30 days of its preparation.
- Gathuma gave companies a grace period of up to January, 31, 2021 to facilitate preparation and surrender of the names warning that failure to comply amounts to an offence where the company and their senior officers will be held to account.
- The electronic register for filling data on owners started work on October 13 under plans that will see the records made available.
Anonymous investors holding multi-billion-shilling stakes will be exposed after companies were directed to furnish the Business Registration Service (BRS) with their names within a month.
BRS director general Kenneth Gathuma in a statement yesterday, said they had activated the Beneficial Ownership E-Register that will hold a roll of beneficial owners in each company.
Failure to comply
“All officers and authorised persons of existing companies are required to comply and submit a copy of the beneficial ownership register within 30 days of its preparation. Changes made to the register after submission must be made known to the registrar within 14 days,” it said.
Gathuma gave companies a grace period of up to January, 31, 2021 to facilitate preparation and surrender of the names warning that failure to comply amounts to an offence where the company and their senior officers will be held to account.
The electronic register for filling data on owners started work on October 13 under plans that will see the records made available.
