Already this year the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership has brought prosecutions for failure to file beneficial ownership information with the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership before the Dublin District Court. The consequences for non-compliance can be severe and can attract a fine of up to €5,000 on summary conviction and up to €500,000 on indictment (and/or imprisonment). In 2024 (the latest up to date official figures available) 31 cases came before the District Court. 11 entities were convicted and fined and 20 entities pleaded guilty and had the Probation Act applied. Based on the number of prosecutions since just the start of this year, it seems certain that these numbers will be far exceeded in 2026.
As well as the risk of prosecution, the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 requires all ‘designated persons’ (e.g., banks, financial institutions etc) to inspect the Register of Beneficial Ownership as part of their customer due diligence before establishing a business relationship with a customer. They are obliged to report any discrepancies and non-compliance to the Registrar. Again the expectation is that the issuance of Discrepancy Notices will increase significantly this year.
KomSec can help and advise you on everything your company needs to be and remain compliant with Beneficial Ownership, allowing you to avoid Discrepancy Notices and possible prosecution.