Did the criminals just get a free pass to hide their money❓

We definitely made it easier for them ‼️

I think that the transparency of beneficial owners is a keystone for fighting financial crime.

Unfortunately, it seems that the transparency agenda is moving in the wrong direction. ↩️

This month, the US suspended the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. When the 6AMLD from the EU is fully implemented mid-this year, it will also be done with public, open UBO registers in all EU countries. All initiatives there are pointing in the wrong direction.

As a result, criminals will find it even easier to hide behind secrecy. Whether they are evading taxes, avoiding sanctions, or laundering money from drugs and trafficking, it will be easier for them all. ↩️

There is still no clear definition of “legitimate interests” for getting access to beneficial owner registers in the EU. I fear that we will see different definitions and that it will be difficult to get access to data across all EU countries. Even if you are not operating in a country, you still need to understand the ownership and control structure across countries. I think that will be significantly more challenging.

These changes make working with AML/CTF harder, using public data will be more difficult, and you will increasingly have to rely on self-declaration and documentation. Not that it has not been the case in the past, but I think many had hoped for a future where KYC would be easier, not harder.

We need stronger advocacy for standardized access to UBO data across the EU and the world.

Who else shares this concern?

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