Following the adoption of the amendment to Act No. 297/2008 Coll. on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Prevention of Terrorist Financing and on Amendments to Certain Acts, effective as of November 1, 2018, we would like to offer you the legal services of the law firm HRONČEK & PARTNERS s.r.o. regarding the fulfillment of obligations arising for affected entities from this new legislation.
The aforementioned amendment to Act No. 297/2008 Coll. on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and on Amendments to Certain Acts introduces, among other things, the obligation to identify the beneficial owners and record information about these persons for a significantly broader range of obligated entities, than was previously the case. Pursuant to Section 10a(1) of this Act, legal entities that are not public administration entities and special-purpose associations of assets without legal personality are required to identify their beneficial owner and to maintain and continuously update, in paper or electronic form, the identification data of the beneficial owner along with other related data proving the status of the beneficial owner, unless such data is already included in a verification document in the Public Sector Partners Register. In other words, they must maintain and update the data in the register in which these legal entities are registered (most commonly the Commercial Register).
The legislation in question also amends Act No. 530/2003 Coll. on the Commercial Register and on Amendments to Certain Acts in the sense that legal entities – entrepreneurs who are registered in the Commercial Register and who are neither public administration entities nor issuers of securities admitted to trading on a regulated market subject to disclosure requirements under a special regulation, an equivalent legal regulation of a Member State of the European Union or equivalent international standards, nor entities registered in the register of public sector partners, will be required to enter or supplement data regarding their ultimate beneficial owner in the Commercial Register, including first name, last name, birth number, date of birth, gender, permanent address or other residence address, nationality, and type and number of identity document, as well as information establishing the status of beneficial owner.
However, information on beneficial owners will not be made public; it will be used only for the purposes of, for example, state authorities in judicial or other proceedings, in cases defined by law.
Legal entities established by October 31, 2018, must fulfill this obligation no later than December 31, 2019. Newly established legal entities will be required to identify the beneficial owner upon the establishment or formation of the legal entity.
As a side note, we would like to mention that the obligation to register beneficial owners in the relevant registers will also apply to non-investment funds, non-profit organizations providing services of general interest, and foundations.
Before concluding, we would like to note that the obligation to identify the beneficial owner, maintain, and update data regarding them in the Public Sector Partners Register is also governed by Act No. 315/2016 Coll. on the Public Sector Partners Register and on Amendments to Certain Acts. However, the entry of the beneficial owner in the Commercial Register does not replace the obligation to register the beneficial owner of a public sector partner in the register pursuant to this Act and, consequently, in the Public Sector Partners Register.
In layman’s terms, this means that all legal entities registered in the Commercial Register (limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, cooperatives, etc.), non-investment funds, non-profit organizations providing services of general interest, and foundations, and therefore also healthcare providers or healthcare facilities (including pharmacy services), who are registered in the Commercial Register and who are not entities registered in the Public Sector Partners Register, will be required to register their ultimate beneficial owners in the Commercial Register and thus fulfill this obligation in order to avoid potential subsequent penalties from the registry court of up to €3,310 for non-compliance.
The law firm HRONČEK & PARTNERS s.r.o. has comprehensive professional experience with the registration of not only Slovak but also foreign natural and legal persons in the Public Sector Partners Register pursuant to Act No. 315/2016 Coll., the Act on the Public Sector Partners Register and on Amendments to Certain Acts. Since this Act took effect, we have successfully registered more than 500 Slovak and foreign public sector partners in the Public Sector Partners Register. For more information on the registration of public sector partners and references, please visit the website www.partnerverejnehosektora.sk.
Our firm is prepared to provide all legal entities subject to the obligation to register information on beneficial owners in the Commercial Register (as well as in all other registers) our specialized legal services, the professionalism of which is confirmed, among other things, by our many years of experience with the registration of public sector partners (and the identification of beneficial owners) in the public sector partner registry.
