Irish Companies take note: Failure to file beneficial ownership details is a prosecutable offence

PUBLISHED: 25th February 2020

The Register of Beneficial Ownership (“RBO”) had a filing deadline of 22 November 2019. The RBO remains open and will accept filings from companies and societies which have not yet filed their beneficial ownership details.

The number of companies which had registered their beneficial ownership details with the RBO at the end of January 2020 was 175,000, or 79% of the total due to file.

If a relevant entity does not file with the RBO, it may be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine of up to €5,000 and, on conviction or indictment, to a fine of up to €500,000.

Relevant entities which have not already filed with the RBO have been advised by the Companies Registration Office to do so as a matter of urgency in order to avoid prosecution.

Newly incorporated entities have also been reminded by the Companies Registration Office that they must file their beneficial ownership details with the RBO within five months of incorporation.

How we can help

Our Company Secretarial team can assist you in the following ways:

• Understand your obligations under the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations
• Provision of advice and training to your organisation
• Review and enhance your internal Register of Beneficial Ownership
• Assist with your initial and ongoing filing obligations to the Central Register

Should you wish to discuss our services further or engage us to assist with the various obligations, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.

For more information on Ultimate Beneficial Owners, please click here.