Luxembourg Banking & Finance | Anti-money laundering – Registers of beneficial ownership to be created in Luxembourg

Article 30 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 4”) creates transparency obligations for corporate and other legal entities to obtain and hold up-to-date information on their beneficial owner(s). This information shall be provided to a central register of beneficial owners established in each Member State and accessible to competent authorities as well as to the public under certain conditions.

Article 31 of AMLD 4 provides for the same duties regarding trusts as well as the creation of a central register of trusts at national level.

On 6 December 2017, two bills of law were filed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Justice with a view to transposing articles 30 and 31 of AMLD 4. Bills of law 7217 and 7216 respectively provide for the creation of an electronic national register of beneficial owners (“the REBECO”) held by the Luxembourg trade and companies’ register (“RCSL”) and of a national register of fiduciaries.