Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 to Introduce New Companies Act Amendment to Compel Companies to Disclose Beneficial Ownership

⭕ A draft amendment to the Companies Act which will for the first time compel businesses to disclose their beneficial owners has been placed on the order paper of Parliament.

⭕ The proposed amendment to the Companies Act will compel businesses to disclose their beneficial owners, meeting an International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural benchmark.

⭕ The law aims to make the beneficial ownership framework consistent with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, a set of international guidelines for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

⭕ Beneficial ownership refers to people who control or benefit from a company, with the proposed amendment allowing the public to inspect details of beneficial owners upon request, including full names and nature and extent of ownership.

⭕ Companies will be required to disclose information about beneficial owners, including dates and places of birth, nationalities, and addresses, with a register to be maintained at the registered office for at least 10 years.

⭕ Failure to disclose or providing false information is a criminal offence punishable by fines or imprisonment, with the Registrar of Companies mandated to maintain a register and make details available to authorities upon request.