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The Council of Ministers has approved a bill drawn up by three different ministries. The change should ensure that a limited number of agencies and individuals have access to the UBO registers.
Ministers Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (Justice and Security) Kaag (Finance) and Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) have jointly submitted the bill to the Council of Ministers which approved the amendment law. 'Access to the UBO registers is limited to bodies with a legal task in preventing and combating fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing. In addition, persons and institutions can gain access to the UBO register if they have a legitimate interest, such as the press and NGOs' writes the central government.
The bodies the ministers are referring to include banks and notaries, who are given access to the registers to combat money laundering. Journalists and civil society organizations can view the register 'if they are involved in research into people behind a company or organization in the context of detecting fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing'. In these cases, there is talk of a 'legitimate interest'. The interpretation of this concept will be further elaborated in the near future, the ministries say. The bill will also be sent to the Council of State for advice. This will then be followed by a parliamentary discussion.
The UBO register is a European database, and in the Netherlands, it is part of the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act. It is possible to request information about the owners or founders of an organization via the register. In November 2022, however, the European Court of Justice ruled that the UBO register 'in its current form seriously affects the fundamental rights and privacy of citizens' because certain data can be viewed by everyone.
Update: In an earlier version of the article, Minister Adema was listed as the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate. This must be Minister Adriaansens. That is why the article has been adjusted.
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