Public access to Beneficiary Registers – UBO Registers is now illegal

On November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union effectively ruled that public access to beneficial ownership registers of EU member states (under the relevant provisions of the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive) is illegal.

According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, public access to information about beneficial owners constitutes a serious interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and the protection of personal data. However, the invalidity only concerns the public access provisions and not the obligation to collect, submit and update information in the Register of Beneficial Owners, which remain in force.

 In light of this ruling, several EU member states have begun to block public access to their beneficial ownership registers, with many more expected to follow suit. As far as Cyprus is concerned, an update from the Registrar of Companies of Cyprus is imminent, for which we will keep you informed.

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