CySec – Update on Cryptocurrencies The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (The ‘CySEC’) has recently issued a Directive (R.A.D. 269/2021) in order to provide guidance for the registration and operating conditions of providers of services related to crypto assets pursuant to the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. Additionally, it has also decided that Cyprus CASPs should...Read More

Why is Cyprus an attractive destination for International Headquarters? Over the last few years, many international groups are looking to re-locate their headquarters and Cyprus, a well-established business hub, has been increasingly popular as a country of choice. This is due to the several benefits associated with setting up offices in Cyprus. Geographically, Cyprus has...Read More

Following previous announcements, we would like to inform you that the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law 188(I)/2007 (AML Law) has been amended on the 18th of February 2021 in order to be fully aligned with the EU Directive 2018/243. As per this amendment, a registry of Ultimate Beneficial Owners of...Read More

The evolving transparency measures taken across the world and the continuous advances in Anti-Money Laundering Legislation, have been leading the EU member states to the development of Centralised Registers of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (“UBOs”). On 16 December 2020, the Council of Ministers, in line with Article 57(b) of the “Prevention and suspension of money laundering...Read More

CySEC sets ground to regulate Cryptocurrencies The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘CySEC’) issued a circular on November 25th, providing guidance to Cyprus Investment Firms (‘CIFs’) on issues relating to crypto assets. CIFs should firstly become authorised by CySEC to trade in cryptocurrencies, as they are not specifically regulated by previous regulation, in Cyprus...Read More

On October 13th, a decision was taken by the Council of Ministers of Cyprus to terminate the existing Cyprus Investment Program. The current program, which has been running since 2013 is set to be discontinued on November 1st. Investors will be able to submit their applications by 31st October 2020 and all pending applications are...Read More

Cyprus Stock Exchange’s Emerging Companies Market (“ECM”) is similar to the AIM for the London Stock Exchange. As an added advantage, it is a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) as defined by the EU’s Markets for Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and operated by an EU regulated Stock Exchange. In contrast to AIM and other main stock...Read More

Cyprus is on the way of creating a “Fast Track Business Activation Mechanism”, after the Council of Ministers approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Ms Natasa Pilides. The Mechanism will introduce express service for investments from third countries. Companies which will be part of the Mechanism will enjoy greater...Read More

A new process to fast-track building permits in Cyprus is set to start on 1st October 2020, targeting to reduce the application processing time from several months to only 10 or 20 days. According to the Minister of Interior, Nicos Nouris, with the fast-track process, permits will be issued within 20 days for applications submitted...Read More

On 18th August 2020, the long awaited regulations governing the Cyprus Investment Programme have been published in the official Gazette. Although the main financial qualification criteria remain the same, the following changes have now been implemented: 1)    The minimum contributions to local (pre-determined) charitable organisations and innovation institutions have increased from EUR150.000 to EUR200.000 in...Read More