Specialists in corporate and tax law in Guatemala say the Forfeiture Act, Decree 55-2010, leaves the gate open for owners of shares of companies to withhold their identity.

Alvaro Castellanos Howell, a lawyer at the law office Consortium, cited as an example the establishment of a company in countries "where bearer shares are allowed, and then an investment is made in Guatemala with shares, buying moveable goods as an off-shore entity".

The primary intention of the Forfeiture Act, Decree 55-2010, Articles 71 to 74, in modifying bearer shares for registered shares, is to make transparent the source of life-giving capital to companies, a fact which, according some lawyers, caused the registration of corporations to fall by 18 percent during the past year.

Source: elperiodico.com.gt

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