Financial Crime World

German Beneficial Owner Register: A Comprehensive Overview

What is the German Beneficial Owner Register?

The German Beneficial Owner Register is a publicly accessible database that contains information on beneficial owners of German companies, partnerships, and other entities. This register aims to increase transparency and prevent money laundering by providing access to information about the ultimate controllers of businesses.

Key Points

  • The Beneficial Owner Register is a key component of Germany’s anti-money laundering regulations.
  • Obliged entities, such as financial institutions, are required to identify and record the beneficial owner(s) of their customers.
  • Simplified due diligence may be applied in certain cases, contingent upon the entity’s ability to provide relevant information about its customers who are beneficial owners.
  • Verification of beneficial owner information should be done through risk-adequate measures, and the transparency register can be used for this purpose.
  • If the information matches that in the transparency register, further verification may not be necessary unless there are discrepancies or indications of a higher risk.

Regulations

The German Money Laundering Act (GwG) is the primary legislation governing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations in Germany. The GwG requires obliged entities to identify and record the beneficial owner(s) of their customers.

  • Directive (EU) 2015/849 (4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive): This directive established a framework for identifying, verifying, and recording information about beneficial owners.
  • Directive (EU) 2018/843 (5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive): This directive further strengthened the requirements for identifying and recording beneficial owner information.
  • Transparenzregister- und Finanzinformationsgesetz (TFinFIAugG): This law regulates the Beneficial Owner Register and provides for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information.

Sources

  • Directive (EU) 2015/849 (4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive)
  • Directive (EU) 2018/843 (5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive)
  • German Money Laundering Act (GwG)
  • BaFin-Interpretation and Application Guidance on the German Money Laundering Act
  • Transparenzregister- und Finanzinformationsgesetz (TFinFIAugG)
  • German Federal Office of Administration (BVA)