New Rules on Beneficial Ownership Register for Companies and Legal Entities – What Do I Need to Do?
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New rules require companies and other legal entities to take all reasonable steps to hold adequate, accurate and current information on their "beneficial owners" on an internal beneficial ownership register from 15 November 2016
On 15 November 2016,
the Department of Finance published the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering:
Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2016 (the
"Regulations").
The Regulations require companies and other
legal entities incorporated in Ireland to take all reasonable steps to hold
adequate, accurate and current information on their "beneficial owners" on an
internal beneficial
ownership register as and from 15 November 2016.
What do I need to do
know?
As the Regulations apply with effect from 15
November 2016 and there are no savers or transitional periods, entities in
scope must now:
- Establish an internal register of their
beneficial owners
- Where the beneficial owners are not known,
take "all reasonable steps" to ensure the beneficial ownership information is
obtained and entered on the beneficial ownership
register
- Where no beneficial owners can be
identified, enter the names of the senior
managers (including the directors and CEO) of the relevant entity on the
beneficial ownership register as the "beneficial owners".
A beneficial owner is an individual who
ultimately owns or controls the relevant entity through direct or indirect
ownership of a sufficient percentage of the shares or voting rights or
ownership interest in the relevant entity. A shareholding of 25% plus one share
or an ownership interest of more than 25% will be evidence of ownership or
control.
For further information on the Regulations
and their requirements please View our full briefing here