Register of beneficial owners of companies

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A register of beneficial owners of companies is a directory of companies , trusts, foundations and other legal entities and their true owners and influencers ( beneficial owners ).

The aim of such a register is to make transactions that are conducted through anonymous companies transparent. In principle, anonymous companies are not illegal, but they can also be used to conduct illegal business, among other things. Examples are businesses that serve to bribe politicians, money laundering , the arms trade and tax avoidance . The recording of beneficial owners serves to create transparency for tax authorities, prosecutors and journalists, among others.

In May 2015, with the fourth version of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the European Union obliged its member states to introduce national registers of beneficial owners of companies. EU member states must ensure that the competent authorities and the central reporting units, persons obliged to comply with the duty of care towards customers, and persons or organizations who can demonstrate a legitimate interest , have access to the registers. Transparency International demanded that every interested party should have access to the register.

In Germany, the directive was transposed into national law with the law to implement the fourth EU money laundering directive , to implement the EU money transfer regulation and to reorganize the Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations , which represented a completely new version of the Money Laundering Act. Part of the new version is the establishment of a transparency register at the Federal Ministry of Finance . The Money Laundering Act regulates the transparency obligations, d. H. the data to be reported by legal persons, the inspection and the European system of networking national registers.

Great Britain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands plan to set up publicly accessible registers.

The introduction of a register is being discussed in the USA .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Global Witness, Company ownership: Which places are the most and least transparent?
  2. ↑ Wold Bank Group and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Anonymous companies and beneficial ownership - progress for sure, but panacea?
  3. ↑ Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 20, 2015
  4. ^ Transparency International, EU Agrees Money Laundering Transparency Reforms, but Full Access Denied
  5. ^ The White House Office of the Press Secretary, United States G-8 Action Plan for Transparency of Company Ownership and Control