Luxembourg’s Ministry of Justice has announced the launch of a reform campaign targeting the national business register — Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR). The initiative will, in particular, involve changes in approaches to working with companies. This was reported by RTL Today.
The European Commission has concluded public consultations on the rules for submitting information to beneficial ownership registers. The document has been published on the Commission’s official portal.
The Dutch authorities are preparing to grant public access to the register of beneficial owners of companies, but access will no longer be unrestricted. This was reported by Dentons.
Italian authorities have restored regular access to the beneficial ownership register, which had been restricted following a European Court of Justice ruling on privacy, but under new conditions. This was reported by the Quotidianopiu portal.
The Isle of Man Central Register has announced it has hired cybersecurity firm SQR to provide “seamless verification” of the identity of beneficial owners of local businesses. This was reported by Global Government Fintech.
Beneficiaries, according to local law, are considered to be persons who control at least 25% of the shares or interests of companies registered in the Isle of Man.
A federal district court in Alabama has ruled unconstitutional the US Corporate Transparency Act, which requires a number of categories of companies to report their beneficial owners to a registry run by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network - FinCEN. The decision was made as part of the National Small Business Association's lawsuit against US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
A businessperson who wanted to correct his company's data has discovered an important flaw in the work of the Estonian commercial register. The ERR portal writes about it.
Transparency International has criticised the authorities of a number of European Union member states for restricting journalists and non-profit activists from accessing registers of beneficial owners of businesses.
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering has issued amendments to its recommendations expanding the powers of financial intelligence agencies.
Malta clarified the procedure for establishing the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner if the corporate client's shares are held by a trust or foundation.
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) has published proposals for amendments to Recommendation 24 and its Explanatory Note on transparency and beneficial ownership of legal entities.
“Non-US” companies incorporated to do business in the US, as well as corporations registered in the US, will be required to file reports annually with the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Agency (FinCEN) disclosing key information about their beneficial owners.
The Government of the Cayman Islands has published preliminary provisions for the creation of a centralized register of beneficial owners, replacing the current system in which companies keep records of their controlling persons.
The German federal government has presented a bill that imposes new disclosure obligations for German companies, in particular about their beneficiaries.
The Register of Beneficial Ownership is a database which contains information about the ultimate beneficial owner of a company (a natural person) or a complex corporate structure.
This summer, a new law will come into force in the Czech Republic, which will fundamentally change a number of conceptual and practical issues in the operation of the register of beneficial owners.
The Czech Ministry of Justice has carried out a technological modernization of the information system containing the data of the beneficiaries of Czech companies.