On September 7, 2015, the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering (“SEPRELAD”) issued Resolution No. 345/2015 by which it establishes the preventive policies to be adopted by the regulated entities supervised by the Central Bank of Paraguay (i.e. financial and banking entities operating in Paraguay, inter alia), in their procedures for the identification of shareholders of legal entities operating as their clients.
Among the measures to be adopted are the following:
- To request its customers to convert their bearer shares into registered shares or, failing that, to deposit such shares in an entity of the national financial system.
- To request companies incorporated abroad whose capital is represented by bearer shares and wish to operate with subjects supervised by the Central Bank of Paraguay (“BCP”), to prove the identity of the beneficial owner of such shares by means of a sworn statement before a Notary Public.
This Resolution also approves a bearer share registry to be implemented by the BCP. The procedures and deadlines will be established later on.
Finally, SEPRELAD states that the refusal to provide the information as required by Resolution No. 345/2015 will constitute a red flag under the terms of the regulations on the prevention of money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
In addition, the modification of the rules of the Civil Code relating to bearer shares is currently being evaluated.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@vouga.com.py.
