Act on registration of beneficial owners: a few new obligations, many new sanctions
At the beginning of February 2021, Act No. 37/2021 Coll., on Registration of Beneficial Owners was published in the Collection of Laws which transposes – albeit with a considerable delay after the deadline which was more than one year ago – requirements of the EU law arising from the fifth generation of the AML Directive. With effect from 1 June, the new act will replace the existing legislation which has been so far contained in Act No. 304/2013 Coll. (Act on Public Registers) and Act No. 253/2008 Coll. (Anti-Money Laundering Act). This article aims to draw attention to some of the principal news that should be noted by Czech corporate entities and trust funds. Especially since the new act imposes considerable sanctions for the failure to meet the obligations. We will focus on the entities most affected by the law, i.e. limited liability companies and joint stock companies.