The fourth EU anti-money laundering directive was adopted on 20 May 2015 and must be implemented in national law by no later than 2017. In the Netherlands, its provisions will be mostly incorporated in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act (Wwft). The changes will affect the privacy of, in particular, major shareholders of family businesses and other companies. This is because companies will be required to disclose the details of their ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) in a central register.
In a parallel development, a draft bill now in the consultation phase will require the establishment of a central shareholders' register (in Dutch: CAHR) for private limited liability companies (BVs) and unlisted public limited liability companies (NVs) as well as unlisted European companies (SEs) and European cooperative societies (SCEs) which have their corporate seat in the Netherlands. Details of holders of registered shares in these entities will have to be included in this register.
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