Some jurisdictions have recently undergone changes in 2023 (or will undergo changes throughout the year).
One of these changes refers to the Public Registry of final beneficiary (“Beneficial Ownership”).
On November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), determined in a preliminary decision that public access to information about the final beneficiary constitutes a serious interference in the fundamental rights to respect for private life and the protection of personal data, enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights (the “Charter”).
The CJUE stated that the interference arising from the public availability of information is not limited to what is strictly necessary, nor is it proportional to the intended objective (the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing).
If confirmed, this will likely extend to jurisdictions scheduled to make final beneficiary records public as early as 2023 (BVI, for example).
At the moment, there is no way to determine how and when this decision will affect the countries belonging to the EU and/or other countries that have committed to making this information available, but it is a point to be analyzed and monitored. It is worth remembering that there is nothing to worry about, as we will keep you updated with all the news on the subject.
In the meantime, contact us to talk about this or any other matter relevant to your company.
