CABO VERDE LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Nelson Raposo Bernardo, Joana Andrade Correia, Júlio Martins Júnior and Manuel Esteves Albuquerque, Raposo Bernardo & Associados
• inform the General Audit of the Securities Market and the company of this fact; and • make the entities mentioned in this section aware of the circumstances under which the voting rights inherent in securities belonging to third parties may be attributed to the participant. There is currently no ultimate beneficial owner public registry in place. 5. Corporate Reporting and Disclosures 5.1 Financial Reporting Requirements Companies are required to file various documents relating to their accounts for the previous financial year with the registrar of commercial companies. The filing covers the following documents: • the annual accounts; • the management report; • minutes of approval of the accounts for the year and application of results; • balance sheet, income statement and annex to the balance sheet and income statement; • legal certification of accounts; and • the opinion of the supervisory body, if such body exists. The management report is prepared by the directors and principally covers the company’s corporate gov - ernance arrangements, the performance of the com - pany during the year under review, and the outlook for the coming year. 5.2 Corporate Governance Arrangement Disclosure Corporate governance arrangements are disclosed as part of the regulatory reports expected from compa - nies. 5.3 Incorporation and Registration In Cabo Verde, the body responsible for company incorporation and registration is the Commercial Reg - istry Services, under the supervision of the Directo - rate-General of Registries, Notary and Identification
( Direção - Geral dos Registos , Notariado e Identifi - cação ), which is part of the Ministry of Justice. Any updates to the constitutive documents during the life of the company must be filed with the companies registry. These updates and their related corporate documents are publicly available and include amend - ments to the articles of association, changes to board composition, transfers of the registered office, and changes to the share capital, among others aspects. In case of failure to comply with the filing obligations, companies or their officers may be exposed to admin - istrative fines. The companies registry has no supervisory powers over companies. 5.4 Global Anti-Money Laundering For general commercial companies, it is important to note first that anti-money laundering (AML) rules apply if they fall under the definition of “obliged entities” ( entidades sujeitas ). Outside the financial sector and specific designated professions, commercial compa - nies are subject to this law if they trade goods and accept cash payments equal to or greater than CVE1 million, whether in a single operation or several appar - ently related ones. Reporting Duties Commercial companies that qualify as obliged entities have the following reporting duties: • Suspicious transaction reporting – Companies must immediately inform the Financial Information Unit (UIF) via fax or email as soon as they know, suspect, or have sufficient reason to suspect, that an operation may involve money laundering. This report must include identification of the partici - pants, the nature of the operation, the circum - stances that led to the suspicion, and any investi - gative measures taken by the company. • Systematic cash reporting – Regardless of any sus - picion, merchants are required to report to the UIF any cash payment operations equal to or greater than CVE1 million. • Cross-border physical transport – Any person or entity entering or leaving the territory carrying cash
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