Алёна Каменецкая, Author at Finance Business Service

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Published Regulatory Guidance for ICO

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 26/02/2018 | blog

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has issued regulatory guidance on ICO. Switzerland is still on the list of the most popular jurisdictions for the organization and development of the activities that are related or based on blockchain, many of which are funded through ICO. In this regard, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (hereinafter referred to as FINMA, the Authority) published regulatory guidance on February 16, 2018 determining the direction for future normative regulation in this field. In addition, FINMA has also clarified the expectations regarding the requirements for the requests relating to the application of the Swiss financial markets legislation in the context of the specific ICO projects. The document, entitled “FINMA Recommendations regarding requests on legislative regulation of Initial Coin Offering”, published on February 16, 2018, is a continuation of the initial recommendations on the legislative regulation of ICO, which were published in September 2017. The purpose of these recommendations of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority is to inform future and existing market participants about how FINMA intends to...

Hong Kong Legislation on Significant Controllers Register Will Enter into Force in March 2018

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 05/02/2018 | news

On January 24, 2018, the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2017 was passed, which mandates incorporated companies of Hong Kong to keep a Significant Controllers Register (SCR). The new legislation will enter into force on March 1, 2018. The Hong Kong Companies Registry has set up a special section on SCR on its website containing, amongst others, a detailed Guideline on the Keeping of SCR and specific forms for the companies to use. The main requirements for the new SCR regime are listed below. Who are required to keep a SCR? All companies “formed and registered” in accordance with the the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, including dormant companies, financial institutions, charitable organizations, companies limited by guarantee and any other types of companies incorporated in Hong Kong, except for the listed companies, and foreign companies registered under Part 16 of the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, must keep a SCR. What should be contained in the SCR? The SCR must contain information on the significant controllers of the applicable company, namely registrable persons (i.e., a natural person or a specified entity such as a government and international organisation) and/or...

Cyprus Imposes 19% VAT on Building Land

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 19/01/2018 | news

From January 2, 2018 in Cyprus, the new VAT Law has entered into force, providing for changes in the main VAT Law No.95(I)/2000. The document introduces VAT at a standard rate for the sale of building land, as well as leasing/rental of business premises on the conditions specified in the law. It also introduces the reverse charge mechanism for VAT-subject supplies of land and property under a loan restructuring/force-sale arrangement, which will mostly influence financial institutions. Imposition of VAT at the standard rate of 19% on building land The standard VAT rate of 19% will be applied in the following cases: transfer of ownership; transfer of indivisible land portion; transfer of ownership via contract or sale agreement or agreement which specifies that the ownership will be transferred in the future or leasing agreement with buyout option. The above shall apply to non-developed building land which is meant for the construction of one or more structures in the course of carrying out a business activity. More clarifications are still needed for the application of the law, such as the circumstances whereby a transfer is not considered to be a part of a person’s...

CMU Has Approved the Concept and Action Plan for Development of Digital Economy in Ukraine until 2020

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 18/01/2018 | news

Yesterday, on January 17, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved an order “On the approval of the development concept of the digital economy and society of Ukraine for 2018-2020 and approval of a plan of action for its implementation”. This is reported by the IA “RBC-Ukraine”. The project is mainly aimed at implementing the initiatives of the “Digital Agenda of Ukraine-2020” in order to remove the barriers for the digital transformation of Ukraine in the most promising fields by stimulating the economy and attracting investments, as well as overcoming the digital inequality, deepening cooperation with the EU in the digital sphere and developing innovative infrastructure of the country and digital transformations. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Groysman wrote about it on his Facebook page: “The adopted Action Plan is very ambitious and innovative - it provides for the development of Industry 4.0, smart factory, digital jobs, STEM-education and digital educational services, digital infrastructures for the Internet things, blockchain, eHealth and e-security, etc. Ukraine is obliged today to launch a large-scale digitization of all branches of the economy...

Estonian Undertakings Will Disclose Beneficial Owners

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 10/01/2018 | news

From 1 September 2018, all Estonian undertakings must disclose data on their beneficial owners in the commercial register. Therefore, name, date of birth, habitual residence and position occupied by the beneficial owner are subject to disclosure. The obligation to provide these data to the register lies with management board of the company. According to the law, a beneficial owner is defined as a natural person who, by using his influence, performs an operation or a transaction or who exercises control over a transaction, operation or another person in whose interests or on whose account a transaction or operation is performed. A beneficial owner is also a natural person who ultimately owns or controls more than 25% of the shares in the undertaking. In case if the company has failed to identify the beneficial owner and “all possible identification measures” have been exhausted, a member of the highest management board must be represented as the beneficial owner. In addition, there must be no doubt that such a person does not exist. Data on the beneficial owner must be submitted to the commercial register during company formation procedures. If they remain unchanged, the...

Legal Regulation of ICO in Different Countries

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 28/12/2017 | blog

Earlier in our articles, we have already considered what Initial Coin Offering is. However, we remind that the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a popular method among start-ups and other companies to raise capital. Investors participate in the collection of financial resources by transferring funds to the issuer in official currencies such as dollar, euro, yuan, etc. or in cryptocurrencies, for example, Bitcoins or Ethers, in exchange for digital tokens (Tokens, electronic coins). It is Tokens that confirm the rights of the holder to receive profit or the fulfillment of obligations on the part of the issuer. In addition, Tokens can be used to pay for services/goods of the issuing company. In contrast to the initial public offering (IPO), usually Tokens do not represent an ownership interest or receipt of dividends from the issuing company. Investors who participate in the ICO often expect to profit from the development of the activities of the company in the future, or play at increasing the value of Tokens (probably the brightest example at the moment is the rise in the price of Bitcoin). Like all cryptocurrencies, Tokens are based on Blockchain (distributed ledger technology,...

Obtaining Licenses by Companies Working with Cryptocurrencies on the Isle of Man

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 20/12/2017 | blog

The Isle of Man shows considerable activity with respect to cryptocurrencies: everyone is interested in digital currencies and is discussing what benefits they can bring to the island. So, the government of the Isle of Man shows that it is entirely open to such a novelty and even offers the opportunity for residents to pay taxes using Bitcoins. The Commission on Financial Supervision of the Isle of Man reacted very quickly to the revitalization of the sphere and brought promptly the rules for preventing the laundering of funds obtained by criminal means in line with the development of the industry. Thus, the government shows its desire not to burden this developing sphere with regulation. In 2015, the amendments were made to the legislation of the Isle of Man, according to which the Financial Services Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) should monitor the compliance of laundering laws by the companies that operate in the field of cryptocurrencies. On October 26, 2015, the amendments to the Companies Act, which carry out certain types of activities (registration and supervision issues) (The Designated Businesses (Registration and Oversight) Act 2015) came into...

The Malta Financial Services Authority Launches Consultation Document Directed at Regulating Collective Investment Schemes in Virtual Currencies

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 11/12/2017 | news

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), a single regulator in the field of financial services in Malta, has published a consultation document which assumes official start of the process for the regulation of collective investment schemes in virtual currencies. The launch of the consultation document provides for the adoption of the regulatory approach by the MFSA in relation to this sector of the digital economy and, simultaneously, provides market participants with a possibility to design a platform for certain categories of investors willing to invest in virtual currencies. As for the draft rulebook, which is a part of the consultation document, such schemes should be initially developed in accordance with the laws of Malta or as SICAV (open-ended investment company with variable share capital) or INVCO (closed-ended investment company with fixed share capital). Although the former structure, as a rule, serves as a legal means of choice for promoters desirous of creating a fund structure within the jurisdiction. Another significant nuance emerging from the consultation document is the MFSA’s position, initially directed to allow collective investment schemes,...

From “paradise” to “black list”. EU has approved a new list of offshore jurisdictions

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 07/12/2017 | blog

On Tuesday, at the meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the European Union, the long-awaited list of low-tax countries which included 17 countries was approved. This list was finally approved at the meeting in Brussels on December 4, 2017 after 10 months of investigation and two years of struggle for obtaining national support from the EU countries. So, the black list of offshore states of the EU includes: American Samoa, Barbados, Bahrain, Grenada, Guam, Macau, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, UAE, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and South Korea. It is noteworthy that the British Overseas Territories such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are not included in the black list, even though they have been in the previous list of June 2015. The methodology for identifying countries in the list of 2015 was strictly criticized, which resulted in the need to refuse from the old list and replace it with a new one. At the same time, real activity is directed to 47 countries that have been included in the so-called “gray list” and promise to amend their taxation rules in order to bring them in line with EU requirements, and also to cooperate more...

Draft Law “On Personal Data Processing” Was Announced in Latvia

Published: Olena Kamenetska | 24/11/2017 | news

On October 12, 2017, the Draft Law on Personal Data Processing was announced at the meeting of state secretaries of Latvia, developed by the Ministry of Justice. The purpose of the bill is to establish legal prerequisites for the application of the EU Regulation on General Data Protection with new requirements for the personal data protection. The Regulation will come into effect on May 25, 2018 and will ensure the harmonization of the existing principles for the personal data protection in the Member States of the EU, creating uniform rules that will operate throughout the EU. At the moment, this sphere is regulated by the Law “On Personal Data Protection”, which will lapse from the moment of the application of the Regulation. The Regulation provides for a number of key innovations designed to improve the work of the single market: unified conditions for the personal data protection at the level of the European Union, which relate to the processing, storage, transfer to other enterprises and archiving; application of the principle of agency of one stop to entrepreneurs: companies will have to cooperate only with one supervising agency for the data protection in...

Author: Алёна Каменецкая