EU agrees anti-money laundering package, including wider access to beneficial ownership registers
On 18 January 2024 the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional deal on the EU's anti-money laundering package. The sixth AML directive requires accurate, current beneficial ownership data in national registers linked at EU level. Authorities get direct access, and people with a legitimate interest, including journalists and civil society, get access too.
Negotiators for the European Parliament and the Belgian Council presidency reached a provisional agreement on 18 January 2024 on the sixth anti-money laundering directive, part of a wider package that also includes a single AML rulebook regulation.
What changed for beneficial ownership registers
- Member states must hold accurate, adequate and up-to-date information on the people who own or control companies and other legal structures, in digital central registers linked at EU level.
- Current and historical information is kept for at least five years and no more than ten.
- Competent authorities, supervisors, tax authorities, the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), the EPPO, OLAF, Europol and Eurojust get immediate, direct and free access.
- Firms carrying out customer due diligence get timely access, for a fee.
- People with a legitimate interest, including journalists, civil society organisations and higher education institutions, can get access. Access is to be granted within 12 working days and lasts three years.
- Registers must be screened for ownership changes that could be used to evade sanctions.
Who is affected
Companies and other legal entities in the EU, which must keep their beneficial ownership information accurate, and the firms that rely on the registers for due diligence.
What to do
Nothing changed on the day of the deal. Review how beneficial ownership information is recorded and kept current in each EU register you file with.
Later developments
The package was published in the Official Journal on 19 June 2024 as Directive (EU) 2024/1640 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. The regulation applies from 10 July 2027. The directive has a general transposition date of 10 July 2027, with some beneficial ownership register provisions due earlier. Covered separately.