Home / CY AIF Law of 2018 / PART ΙΙ: PROVISIONS REGARDING THE ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS / Chapter 2: Authorisation of an AIF / [13] Granting AIF authorisation 

13. Granting AIF authorisation

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 12(2), the Securities and Exchange Commission shall grant authorisation to the AIF only if it approves -

(a) the relevant application,

(b) the AIF’s fund rules or instruments of incorporation,

(c) the choice of its external manager, or in case of an internally managed AIF, the persons who effectively direct the business of the AIF, and

(d) the choice of its depositary.

(2) The Securities and Exchange Commission shall neither require the external manager of the AIF to be established in the Republic as a condition for authorisation, nor the delegation of the portfolio management of the AIF to an external manager established in the Republic.

(3) The Securities and Exchange Commission shall not grant an AIF authorisation if -

(a) It considers that its external manager, which is established in the Republic, does not satisfy the conditions of -

• the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law, if the external manager is an AIFM of the Republic∙

• (the Open Ended Undertakings for Collective Investments Law, if the external manager is a UCITS management company established in the Republic∙

• a legislation of the Republic subject to which an AIF management company is authorised, for the investment management of AIFs, whose assets under management do not exceed the thresholds of article 4(2) of the Alternative Investment Funds Manager Law.

• Article 24(1), if the external manager is an IF∙ or

(b) the external manager of the AIF, established in another Member State, does not meet the requirements of article 6(2)(b)∙ or

(c) the external manager of the AIF does not comply with the provisions of article 49 of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law, in case the external manager of the AIF is a non-EU AIFM, as per article 6(2)(b)(i)∙ or

(d) the depositary of the AIF does not meet the requirements laid down in this Law or the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law, as the case may be, or the person or persons appointed by the depositary as responsible for monitoring the activity of the AIF, are not of good repute or they do not possess sufficient experience, among others, in relation to the type of the AIF subject to authorisation∙

(e) the effective exercise of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s supervisory functions is prevented by any of the following-

• close links between the AIF and other natural or legal persons∙ or

• the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of a third country governing natural or legal persons with which the AIF has close links∙ or

• difficulties involved in the enforcement of those laws, regulations and administrative provisions referred to in sub-paragraph (ii).

(4) The Securities and Exchange Commission shall inform the external manager of the AIF or the AIF, in case it is internally managed, within six months of the submission of a complete application file in accordance with sections 12(3) to (6), whether authorisation has been granted:

It is provided that in case the Securities and Exchange Commission refuses to grant authorisation, the reasons for such a decision shall be duly justified:

It is further provided that when the AIF will take the form of an investment company or a limited partnership, the decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the granting of authorisation shall also be communicated to the Registrar.

(5) Article 8(7) of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law apply in the case of an AIFM, which is an internally managed AIF:

It is provided that all other AIFs, may not conduct any business activity unless they are granted AIF authorisation, subject to the provisions of this article.