Duty of professional intermediary customer

(1) Where a registered agent deals with a professional intermediary customer (such as an overseas law firm, an accounting firm or company formation agent who requests international business companies to be incorporated in Belize on behalf of his customers), the registered agent shall have a contractual relationship with such customer requiring the professional intermediary customer to perform his own “know your customer” due diligence with his end-user customer in accordance with accepted international standards and to forward the bearer shares certificate to the registered agent forthwith. (2) Where a professional intermediary customer refuses or fails to forward the bearer shares certificate to the registered agent in accordance with subregulation (1) above, the registered agent for such company and the company shall be struck off the Register of the International Business Companies. (3) In relation to the Registers under regulation 7A– (a) the registered agent’s contractual relationship pursuant to subregulation (1) shall include the requirement of the professional intermediary customer to submit the Registers to the registered agent immediately upon receipt of such Registers from the company; (b) the professional intermediary customer shall submit the Registers or changes to the Registers to the registered agent immediately upon its receipt or within [ten days] of the date of incorporation of a company, if applicable, whichever date is the earlier date; (c) if the professional intermediary customer refuses or fails to forward the Registers to the registered agent in accordance with this regulation, the registered agent shall– (i) immediately notify the Director General of the customer’s failure to supply the required Registers; (ii) immediately provide the General with information contained in its of the (iii) review the risk profile of the professional intermediary customer and consider ceasing the relationship with that professional intermediary customer; or (iv) undertake any other action required by the Director General in relation to that including resignation as registered agent for such company if it is verified that the company is not in compliance with the International Business Companies Act in relation to the keeping of Registers; and (d) the Director General may consider any other appropriate penalties applicable against the professional intermediary customer including the following– (i) an administrative penalty of one thousand dollars for failure to submit Registers pursuant to regulation 7A(2); (ii) an administrative penalty of one thousand dollars for failure to submit changes to the Registers in respect of those changes submitted to it by the company; (iii) an administrative penalty of one thousand dollars for failure to submit Registers pursuant to regulation 7(1); (iv) an administrative penalty of one thousand dollars for failure to submit a declaration required by the Act which it has in its possession; or (v) a daily administrative penalty of fifty dollars per day or part of a day for each day the professional intermediary fails to comply with any requirement under the Act.