AMSTERDAM – 5 May 2022 – Greenberg Traurig, LLP Amsterdam Shareholder Hans Urlus and Associate Maquina Lamé authored a Practice Note covering the registration and maintenance of the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) Register in the Netherlands. The article was originally published on Thomson Reuters Practical Law.
The note explains which Dutch entities need to register and maintain information on their Ultimate Beneficial Owners in the UBO Register as well as the requirements and deadlines for registering. This note furthermore explains which (foreign and Dutch) trust and trust-like entities will be required to register and maintain UBO information in the Trust Register. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce (CoC) has been appointed to maintain and keep UBO registration details in the UBO Register and Trust Register, both of which are a part of the Trade Register held by the CoC.
The obligation to set up and maintain a UBO Register became effective on 27 September 2020 and stems from the Fourth Money Laundering Directive ((EU) 2015/849) (4MLD), as amended by the Fifth Money Laundering Directive ((EU) 2018/843) (5MLD). The aim of the EU Directives is to implement a uniform system of such UBO Registers across the EU in order to enhance transparency to prevent the financial system from being used for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. The UBO Register is the result of the Dutch implementation of such registration requirements.
The Practice Note covers:
- The obligation for Dutch entities to register and maintain information on UBOs in the UBO Register and the obligation of trusts to register and maintain information on their UBOs in the Trust Register;
- Who qualifies as a UBO;
- What UBO information must be registered and where;
- Reporting obligations of institutions that that are subject to the anti-money laundering obligations where there are discrepancies found in their onboarding process compared to registered information (the obligation imposed on regulators to report such discrepancies as well is not covered by this note); and
- How to apply to shield or protect UBO information from public access.
Read the full article about the Dutch register of ultimate beneficial owners at this link.
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