In December 2012, Administrative Service Providers (ASPs) in Cyprus were informed by the financial regulator, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC), they would have to apply for a licence for the first time. Applications had to be with CYSEC by June 21 last year.
However, the regulator has been swamped with applications and is now offering companies an opportunity to fast-track their application by paying an additional fee of €500 (£410, $680) – part of which, CYSEC said, “will be paid to the employee of [CYSEC] that will examine the application”.
The regulator explained the payment would be made to the employee “as these applications will be examined during non-working hours”. It was not clear how much of the €500 would be paid to the individual.
CYSEC was very clear the scheme is only open to those companies which have already submitted their application and not to those who have missed the application deadline.
In order to see their applications expedited, CYSEC said companies currently need only notify their interest. It added that, only once the applicant is contacted by one of the 20 CYSEC employees participating in the scheme, must it pay the €500 fee.
In a carefully laid out programme of how the full application and examination process works, CYSEC estimates that an expedited application should be approved in five to seven weeks.
The financial services industry in Cyprus has suffered a number of very serious setbacks in recent years, with its banks closing for a sustained period last year due to their exposure to highly leveraged local property companies.
The country was ultimately handed a controversial bailout by the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund under agreement it would close its second largest bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank, and impose a onetime bank levy on all uninsured deposits over €100,000.
Closer to home for readers of International Adviser, its QROPS industry was closed down by HMRC in August 2012.
