The lack of legal basis for the current UBO registration in Sint Maart
July 4, 2025
For Sint Maarten to remain in “good standing” with the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), it is obligated to take certain measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. If such measures are not taken Sint Maarten could be placed on a “grey” or “black” list, which would result in Banks and other financial institutions refusing to do business here or requiring very strict conditions for making payments and/or receiving payments from Sint Maarten, thus hindering the flow of capital to and from Sint Maarten.
In 2019 Sint Maarten introduced the Law on the prevention of Money Laundering and the financing of terrorism (the Law). This Law, amongst others, obligates businesses and other legal entities (legal entities) to register the Ultimate Beneficial Owners of such entities with the Chamber of Commerce. Every registered legal entity is obligated to register the personal information of UBO’s. Personal information is the name, surname, gender, address, the date and place of birth, nationality, signature and initials of a natural person.
This obligation was introduced in 2019, but it has taken the Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) six(!) years to create a form to register UBO’s. Better late than never, one could say.
Recently the Chamber has informed the general public that entities had to register their UBO’s by July 1st, 2025, or face a fine up to Cg 50.000, =.
The list of requirements for registration of UBO’s are, however, much more extensive than required by law. The Chamber also demands that entities submit their crib numbers, the crib numbers of UBO’s, a copy of their passports, an original(!) share register and a declaration, signed by the UBO that he/she will not engage in money laundering, the financing of terrorism or any other illegal activity. The website of the Chamber also mentions additional information, such as a partnership agreement, an organizational chart and/or other relevant documents. If this information is not submitted, the Chamber will not accept the UBO registration. As a consequence, the entity will be in default.
However, there is no legal basis for these additional requirements, and the Chamber is acting in violation of the law, the Ordinance of Protection of Personal Information and the principles of proper governance by demanding this information. Furthermore, contrary to the statement of the Chamber that this information is only accessible by the Public Prosecution Office, the Central Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Tax Inspector, this information is publicly available based on article 11 Trade registry Law.
If these requirements are not listed in the law, then where did the Chamber obtain these requirements from? The Chamber, apparently not realizing that Sint Maarten has been an autonomous country since 10-10-10, has implemented the law of Curacao. Curacao requires entities to register all the abovementioned information, apart from the “UBO Declaration”, it seems that this was just made up by the Chamber. All information listed on the website of the Chamber and in its UBO registry Guide is based on the law in Curacao, not the law in Sint Maarten.
As mentioned above, the Chamber refuses to accept the registration of UBO’s if not all requested information is included. If a legal entity wishes to comply with its obligation to register UBO’s, it is thus forced to submit very personal information, without any legal basis but also without the appropriate legal protection. The law in Curacao has specific privacy protection clauses, only allowing authorized authorities access to the UBO information. Sint Maarten lacks such protection, which means that any third party may access this (illegally collected) information. This puts both businesses and UBO’s at real risk.
One can only wonder how the Chamber ended up making such a mistake. The Chamber has apparently put a lot of effort into implementing this UBO registry. It has created an extensive website, a pamphlet, drafted forms and a UBO declaration and issued several press releases on this issue. It has thus spent a lot of time and money on implementing a foreign, non-applicable law. How is it possible that at no point someone verified that the law they were implementing was not a Sint Maarten law?
Hopefully the Chamber will remedy this current illegal and possibly criminal situation as soon as possible, so that local entities can comply with the Sint Maarten law to register their UBO’s. If it does not, then the only choice left for concerned business(es) and/or owners is to judicate this issue in court.
Pieter Soons
Partner at BZSE, attorneys at law
Disclaimer:
This blog provides general information and is not intended as legal advice. BZSE strongly recommends seeking personalized legal advice based on your specific circumstances before making any decisions or taking action
More articles →
In 2019 Sint Maarten introduced the Law on the prevention of Money Laundering and the financing of terrorism (the Law). This Law, amongst others, obligates businesses and other legal entities (legal entities) to register the Ultimate Beneficial Owners of such entities with the Chamber of Commerce. Every registered legal entity is obligated to register the personal information of UBO’s. Personal information is the name, surname, gender, address, the date and place of birth, nationality, signature and initials of a natural person.
This obligation was introduced in 2019, but it has taken the Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) six(!) years to create a form to register UBO’s. Better late than never, one could say.
Recently the Chamber has informed the general public that entities had to register their UBO’s by July 1st, 2025, or face a fine up to Cg 50.000, =.
The list of requirements for registration of UBO’s are, however, much more extensive than required by law. The Chamber also demands that entities submit their crib numbers, the crib numbers of UBO’s, a copy of their passports, an original(!) share register and a declaration, signed by the UBO that he/she will not engage in money laundering, the financing of terrorism or any other illegal activity. The website of the Chamber also mentions additional information, such as a partnership agreement, an organizational chart and/or other relevant documents. If this information is not submitted, the Chamber will not accept the UBO registration. As a consequence, the entity will be in default.
However, there is no legal basis for these additional requirements, and the Chamber is acting in violation of the law, the Ordinance of Protection of Personal Information and the principles of proper governance by demanding this information. Furthermore, contrary to the statement of the Chamber that this information is only accessible by the Public Prosecution Office, the Central Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Tax Inspector, this information is publicly available based on article 11 Trade registry Law.
If these requirements are not listed in the law, then where did the Chamber obtain these requirements from? The Chamber, apparently not realizing that Sint Maarten has been an autonomous country since 10-10-10, has implemented the law of Curacao. Curacao requires entities to register all the abovementioned information, apart from the “UBO Declaration”, it seems that this was just made up by the Chamber. All information listed on the website of the Chamber and in its UBO registry Guide is based on the law in Curacao, not the law in Sint Maarten.
As mentioned above, the Chamber refuses to accept the registration of UBO’s if not all requested information is included. If a legal entity wishes to comply with its obligation to register UBO’s, it is thus forced to submit very personal information, without any legal basis but also without the appropriate legal protection. The law in Curacao has specific privacy protection clauses, only allowing authorized authorities access to the UBO information. Sint Maarten lacks such protection, which means that any third party may access this (illegally collected) information. This puts both businesses and UBO’s at real risk.
One can only wonder how the Chamber ended up making such a mistake. The Chamber has apparently put a lot of effort into implementing this UBO registry. It has created an extensive website, a pamphlet, drafted forms and a UBO declaration and issued several press releases on this issue. It has thus spent a lot of time and money on implementing a foreign, non-applicable law. How is it possible that at no point someone verified that the law they were implementing was not a Sint Maarten law?
Hopefully the Chamber will remedy this current illegal and possibly criminal situation as soon as possible, so that local entities can comply with the Sint Maarten law to register their UBO’s. If it does not, then the only choice left for concerned business(es) and/or owners is to judicate this issue in court.
Pieter Soons
Partner at BZSE, attorneys at law
Disclaimer:
This blog provides general information and is not intended as legal advice. BZSE strongly recommends seeking personalized legal advice based on your specific circumstances before making any decisions or taking action
More articles →
