Beneficial Ownership Registers Update in Crown Dependencies

The Isle of Man together with Guernsey and Jersey (‘the Crown Dependencies’) have made a significant announcement regarding their beneficial ownership registers.

In a joint statement, they have said: ”Having carefully considered the CJEU’s decision in WM and relevant ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights] case law, the governments of the Crown Dependencies are satisfied that it would not be compatible with the international obligations extended to them, including those enshrined in their domestic laws, to grant access to their beneficial ownership registers to the general public.”

In summary, the Crown Dependencies have:

• 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 2019 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers.
• 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐂𝐉𝐄𝐔) 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 2022, which stated that unrestricted public access to such registers poses a threat to privacy.
• 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 to these registers to those with a ‘legitimate interest’, including law enforcement and financial institutions, in line with EU Member States following the CJEU decision.
• 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 to extend access to ‘obliged entities’ under anti-money laundering legislation by the end of 2024, with appropriate privacy safeguards.
• 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 ‘𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭’ 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, considering international best practices and the EU Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, with proposals to be presented to their parliaments by Q4 2024.

This development marks a significant shift in the approach to transparency and privacy in the realm of beneficial ownership in these jurisdictions.