From the Brussels office

On 20 May the European Parliament adopted the Fourth Money Laundering Directive. Formal adoption by the Council will mark the beginning of a two-year transposition period for member states.

Among new provisions is the requirement to publish information on beneficial owners of companies in central national registers. With regard to trusts, beneficial ownership information will also be included in a central register but will only be accessible to competent authorities, and in the UK context, the only trusts caught by the measure are those which already have to register and file annual reports to HMRC.

The directive requires the Commission to prepare a supra-national assessment of money laundering risks across the EU.