Luxembourg Announces Beneficial Ownership Register
The Government of Luxembourg staged a press conference on December 6 to announce the outline of proposals for registries on the beneficial owners of corporate entities and trusts.
The draft law, announced jointly by Justice Minister Felix Braz and Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna, would introduce new obligations on legal persons to maintain and make available information on their own beneficial owners. Those failing to comply with the new rules could face criminal sanctions under the draft law.
The new rules would transpose the requirements of the 4th European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive, as well as aligning Belgium with Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 24.
The new register will be administered by Luxembourg's companies registry, the Registre de Commerce et des Societes.
In addition, Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna has introduced a bill that would establish a trust register, intended to improve the availability of beneficial ownership information on trust contracts. Under the bill, trustees would be obliged to obtain and maintain adequate, accurate, and timely information on beneficial owners of trusts.
The bill also establishes a register of trusts in the Registrar and Estate Administration, as a result of which trustees established in Luxembourg would be required to provide information on the identity of beneficial owners of trusts that produce tax consequences.