Business owners who have not registered their firms or provided their list of shareholders could be deregistered by May 15 this year.
This comes following a notice by the Business Registration Services (BRS), giving companies and their shareholders one month to comply. “On October 17, 2024, the Registrar of Companies issued Directive No 1 of 2024 under Section 93A of the Companies Act,” stated the BRS in its notice.
“This directive allowed private companies until November 30, 2024, to comply with the requirement to file a copy of their register of beneficial owners. “Please note that the deadline for compliance lapsed, and consequently, in accordance with Section 894(1) of the Companies Act, the Registrar of Companies has formed a reasonable belief that the listed companies may not be conducting business or are not in operation.” According to the State’s business listing authority, the firms on the list have failed to file annual returns and financial statements for a period of at least five years or have not complied with requirements to provide details of their beneficial owners.
Last year, the BRS issued a notice urging owners of private liability companies and limited liability companies to prepare and maintain a register of beneficial owners or risk a penalty of Sh500,000 and a fine of Sh50,000 each day that the information is not updated.
“In line with anti-money laundering, combating terrorism financing, and combating proliferation financing, the service is mandated to comply with the collection and maintenance of accurate, adequate, and up-to-date basic and beneficial ownership information of companies and limited liability partnerships,” said the BRS in its notice.
The registration of beneficial company owners is part of the conditions raised by Kenya’s development partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to support the country’s fight against corruption and illicit financial flows.
In 2022, the Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based think tank, recommended that the BRS provide a public verification mechanism for beneficial ownership information listed on its platform.
“The BRS should consider direct access to beneficial ownership information for competent authorities and in the course of public procurement,” stated the GFI in its submissions.
According to the latest data from the BRS, 145,284 entities were registered as of the end of June 2023.
