Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Provident Societies – Opening Postponed
The common understanding of Beneficial Ownership is that companies must provide details of any individual with an ultimate shareholding of 25%+1 share in any company registered in Ireland.
Providing a detailed understanding of the intricacies involved or, obtaining the pertinent information required is not easy.
The history in implementing EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives in Ireland is almost as long as the name of the Irish Central Register. Some of the key points relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Beneficial Ownership are noted below.
November 2016 Statutory Instrument No. 560 requiring companies to create and maintain a Register of Beneficial Ownership
July 2018 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive entered into force in EU
November 2018 Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amending) Act 2018
March 2019 Statutory Instrument No. 110 requiring companies to file their Beneficial Ownership details with the Central Register
June 2019 Central Register to be open for electronic filings by companies
November 2019 Deadline for all companies to complete their filings on the Central Register
January 2020 Transposition of 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive by all Member States
It should have been possible from 22.06.2019 for companies to start electronically filing in the Central Register. Unfortunately, the Central Register have advised that the opening of the Register has been postponed temporarily.
Regardless of whether or not one can file on the Central Register companies must still maintain and update their own internal Register of Beneficial Owners.