NETHERLANDS: No beneficial ownership register until next year at the earliest   The Dutch government has postponed until 2019 the introduction of a register of company beneficial ownership. The register should have been operating since last June, under the timetable set by the EU Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, but the EU’s recent adoption of the...Read More

Portugal bank deposits over 50,000 euros The Portuguese government issued a decree on Thursday giving tax authorities automatic access to bank account balances in excess of 50,000 euros (44,113 pounds) as part of a drive against tax evasion and money laundering. The decree was first approved by the cabinet in 2016, but vetoed by President...Read More

Money laundering and terrorist financing: new rules adopted   On 14 May 2018, the Council adopted a directive strengthening EU rules to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The directive sets out to close down criminal finance without hindering the normal functioning of payment systems. Amending directive 2015/849, it is part of an action plan launched...Read More

Switzerland expects automatic exchange with Hong Kong and Singapore next year   The Swiss federal government has asked Parliament to approve its plans to automatically exchange financial account information (AEOI) with Singapore and Hong Kong from Autumn 2019. Switzerland has already agreed to implement AEOI with 38 jurisdictions, including all EU Member States. In June...Read More

New obligation for Spanish companies to disclose their ultimate beneficial owners On 21 March 2018, Spanish Ministry of Justice issued Ministerial Order 319/2018 that requires Spanish non-listed companies to disclose their ultimate beneficial owners (“UBO“) to the Companies Registry and keep those information updated. New UBO reporting measure is motivated by Directive 2015/849 of the...Read More