Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Provident Societies – Opening Postponed

Posted by Kathryn Maybury on Tuesday, 25 June 2019

A post by Kathryn Maybury | Managing Director | KOMSEC Limited | Company Secretarial Services | Corporate Governance | Compliance |

Tel: +353 (0) 1 2107595 Email: kmaybury@komsec.ie

 

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                      5^th 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 5^th 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.  

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