A corporate entity or partnership which intends to offer international trustee services to the public at large on a professional basis must obtain the prior authorisation of the Central Bank of Cyprus, under the Exchange Control Law.

In order to obtain such authorisation, an application must be submitted to the Central Bank containing the following information:-

15.1 a statement setting out the nature and scale of the intended trust business and the proposed arrangements for its operations;

15.2 completion by the applicant of certain detailed questionnaires about the applicant's professional expertise, current business affairs etc;

15.3 a ‘Letter of Authorization’ from the principal beneficial shareholders of the applicant, in the case of a legal person, enabling the Central Bank to seek and exchange information from and with third parties in general, as well as banking, supervisory or financial regulation authorities, on the content and purpose of the application.

The grant of a trust licence is at the discretion of the Central Bank which does not apply any rigid criteria for the purposes of processing each application but rather deals with it on its merits. Successful applicants are issued with a licence incorporating a number of conditions, the most common of which are that the trustee company shall submit annually to the Central Bank the number of trusts and total value of assets under trust administration and that the trustee company shall not act as a trustee of a collective investment scheme without the prior approval of the Central Bank.

The purpose of this publication is to assist clients and associates in clarifying and appreciating the range of opportunities which are available in or through Cyprus. Although every effort has been made to provide the reader with a clear and comprehensive picture of the island's beneficial regime, it should be appreciated that is not possible to cover all aspects comprehensively in a publication of this size.

Individuals or companies who are seriously considering using Cyprus for any of their international business activities are advised to obtain expert professional advice before taking positive action.