The Council of the European Union Adopts New Anti-Money Laundering Rules including Central Registers for Beneficial Ownership Information

On 20 April 2015, the Council of the European Union adopted a new anti-money laundering directive and regulation. The directive includes the requirement that all EU Member States maintain a central register of Information on beneficial ownership of companies, which must be accessible to competent authorities, financial intelligence units and, as part of customer due diligence, obliged entities such as banks. Other persons or organizations that can demonstrate a legitimate interest will also b…