Cayman Islands: Legitimate Interest Access of Beneficial Ownership

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Mar 2025

The Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Legitimate Interest Access) Regulations, 2024 commenced on 28 February 2025. Under these Regulations, the Cayman Islands Registrar (the “Registrar”) may provide access to the information on the beneficial ownership search platform in relation to a legal person to a member of the public (an “Applicant”), provided that the Applicant:

(a) Is a person engaged in journalism or bone fide academic research;

(b) is acting on behalf of a civil society organisation whose purpose includes the prevention or combating of money-laundering, its predicate offences or terrorism financing; or

(c) is seeking that information in the context of a potential or actual business relationship or transaction with the legal person about whom that information is sought; and

(d) has a legitimate interest in that information for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating, combating or prosecuting money laundering or its predicate offences or terrorist financing.

In order to make an application, the Applicant must submit evidence to the satisfaction of the Registrar of the Applicant’s identity (and where relevant, credentials) and establishing the criteria above has been met. Applications may only be submitted in respect of a specific named legal person (or more than one legal person where the legal persons are connected). Legitimate Interest Access searches of the Beneficial Ownership Register must be specific and can only be conducted on the name of the Legal Person. No applications for searches are permitted on the basis of an individual’s name.

The Registrar has the power to refuse an application if it is not satisfied that a legitimate interest has been established. The Registrar is required to keep records of all applications submitted and decisions made for a period of six years.

If an application is approved, the information that may be accessed for an individual beneficial owner or senior managing official (excluding minors) is as follows:

(i) Name;

(ii) Country of residence;

(iii) Nationality;

(iv) Month or year of birth or both; and

(v) The mechanism of control they have over the Legal Person.

In respect of a reportable legal entity, the following information may be accessed:

(i) Name;

(ii) Registered office;

(iii) Legal form;

(iv) Registration number; and

(v) The mechanism of control they have over the Legal Person.

For a deemed beneficial owner, the following information may be accessed:

(i) Name;

(ii) Registered office;

(iii) Legal form; and

(iv) The mechanism of control they have over the Legal Person.
If the mechanism of control is through ownership of shares, the individual’s percentage ownership will not be accessible.

Future Extensions to Public Access Provisions

At a recent Cayman Islands conference, representatives from the Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce (the “Ministry”) outlined its stance against openly public registers during the regime’s initial discussions. Instead, the Ministry emphasised the importance of alignment with the EU’s legitimate interest position following the WM and Sovim SA v Luxembourg Business Registers decision in 2022, which balanced privacy with transparency. Consequently, the ministry emphasised that no expansion of openly publicly accessible registers is anticipated in the Cayman Islands unless it becomes a global standard.

The Ministry did not comment on the implementation of the updated Beneficial Ownership regime since it commenced in January 2025. At a recent roundtable event, the Registrar confirmed that it is taking a considered approach to analyse each Legitimate Interest Access application on its merits on a case by case basis.