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Beneficial Ownership Transparency in the Netherlands: A Step Forward

The Dutch government has been working towards improving beneficial ownership transparency in line with G20 principles. Here’s an overview of the current state, weaknesses, and future plans.

Current State: Strong Compliance with G20 Principle 1

  • The Netherlands’ compliance with G20 Principle 1 on definition of beneficial ownership is strong, scoring 63%.
  • The applicable legislation includes a clear definition of Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO), which covers:
    • Natural persons holding more than 25% of issued capital
    • Those exercising control over a client
  • The term “client” encompasses both natural and legal persons, including those acting as trustees.

Current Weaknesses

  • There are no specifications regarding authorized access to UBO information.
  • The existing company register is available online but has limited information and requires registration and a fee for access.

Future Plans: Enhancing Beneficial Ownership Transparency

  • A new UBO register will be introduced, covering:
    • Private limited companies
    • Public limited companies
    • Foundations
    • Associations
    • Partnerships
  • The register will be publicly accessible and administered by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
  • Limited access to UBO information will be available in PDF format against a small fee and upon registration.

Future Score: Expected Improvement

Based on current legislative plans, the score for beneficial ownership transparency is expected to improve to 69% (strong).

Key Takeaways

  1. The Netherlands has made significant progress in implementing G20 Principle 1 on definition of beneficial ownership.
  2. However, there are still gaps in access to UBO information, which will be addressed by the introduction of a new UBO register.
  3. The proposed UBO register will provide public access to limited UBO information, which may not be sufficient for all stakeholders.

Conclusion

This highlights the importance of beneficial ownership transparency and the steps being taken by the Netherlands to improve its legislative framework in this area.