The Ministry of Finance has conducted an internet consultation proposing that the Dutch register of 'ultimate beneficial owners' (UBO register) be made public. This anticipates new European rules that will come into force in the middle of next year.
The term ‘UBO’ is defined very broadly, which means that many people are listed in the register who are not beneficiaries of the legal entity or other entity listed in the register. For example, in non-profit organizations, the statutory directors are registered as UBOs.
The Ministry of Finance assumes that the UBO register is useful for combating crime. Strangely enough, criminals and other parties with malicious intentions are allowed to browse the register unhindered, because there is no check on the integrity or expertise of those who are granted access. Privacy First has fundamental criticisms of the access system proposed by the ministry.
Privacy Firsthas been following the UBO dossier for a long timeand is concerned about the global dissemination of personal financial data resulting from the European UBO registers and regulations privatizing the fight against crime to banks and accountants, among others, also known as "anti-money laundering."
Our consultation response can be foundHERE.
Privacy First also recently participated in aEuropean consultationon the UBO register. In this consultation, Privacy First criticized, among other things, the way in which UBOs are classified into categories on the basis of "control" and drew attention to the curious phenomenon that non-profit organizations are considered to have "ultimate beneficiaries." This has been met with a great deal of incomprehension by such organizations for years.
Our English-language European consultation response can be foundHERE.
To be continued.
