Luxembourg register of beneficial owners of legal entities

• United Kingdom
• Luxembourg

• Financial services and markets regulation
• Tax planning and consultancy
• Financial services

24-01-2019

By transposing Art. 30 of the Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the 4th anti-money laundering directive), the Luxembourg law of 13 January 2019 (“RBO Law”) establishes a beneficial owners register (“BO Register”).

According to the RBO Law, any company or entity registered with the Luxembourg trade and companies register (“Luxembourg Registered Entities”) must specify its beneficial owners as defined in the Luxembourg anti-money laundering legislation.

The BO register will include the following details (“BO Details”):

• first and last names
• nationality
• dates and places of birth
• countries of residency
• private or professional addresses
• identification number
• nature and scope of the effective interest held

Once entered in to force (i.e. on 1 March 2019), Luxembourg Registered Entities will have to:

• obtain and maintain at their registered office up-to-date BO Details (together with the supporting documentation)
• file such BO Details in a new, specially-created register in Luxembourg
• provide BO Details (including information on legal owners)

The BO Details shall be provided and reflected in the BO Register by the Luxembourg Registered Entities within one month from the date of incorporation (or any changes to its beneficial ownership).

The RBO Law also provides that any person may request access to the details filed with the BO Register (expect for the private or professional address and identification number). Such access can be restricted to specific persons (national authorities, banks, notary, etc…) under certain conditions and subject to formal application. Nevertheless, tax authorities already have access to the full KYC/AML documentation and information for exchange of information purposes.

The RBO Law also provides for criminal penalties ranging from EUR 1,250 to EUR 1,250,000 for non-compliant Luxembourg Registered Entities.

A six-month transition period is granted following the entry into force of the RBO Law. Access to the BO Register will only be granted at the end of this six-month period.