Legal Bulletin - ECJ Ruling on the Register of Beneficial Owners
The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) was called to render a preliminary ruling on the compatibility between Article 30 par. (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (“AMLD IV”) which grants free access to information in the Register of beneficial owners to any member of the general public and the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union concerning respect for private and family life (Article 7) and protection of personal data (Article 8). Article 30 par. (5) of AMLD IV initially provided that access to the Register of beneficial owners is granted to any person or organisation that can demonstrate a legitimate interest. This provision was later amended by…Read More →