From January 2020, a register of ultimate beneficiaries of a business (UBO register) will come into force in the Netherlands. All companies and legal entities will be required to register their direct and indirect owners in 2020. Some of this personal data, such as the name and economic interests of the ultimate beneficiary, will be published in the register. A bill to create such a registry was recently submitted to the lower house.
The purpose of the registry is to combat financial and economic crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing. This is supposed to be achieved through the obligatory transparency of the structures of the companies. This will affect individuals who previously managed companies without advertising it. Thus Minister Hoekstra states: “It is very important to prevent the use of the financial system, for example, for money laundering. Therefore, I will continue to pursue transparency in this sector. ”
The introduction of the register of final beneficiaries is the implementation of the fourth European Directive on the fight against money laundering. The purpose of this directive is to prevent the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing.
The register, which will include the information on the ultimate beneficiaries, will become part of the commercial register and thus will be managed by the Chamber of Commerce. Some of the information on the ultimate beneficiaries is planned to be made publicly available. Special measures will be taken to protect the privacy of the final beneficiaries.
Publication Date: 18.04.2019
