ⒾMachine translations by Deepl
UBO register becomes public while integrity safeguards are lacking
The finance ministry has issued a internet consultation held proposing that the Dutch register of ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ (UBO register) actually become public. This anticipates new European rules coming into force in the middle of next year.
The term ‘UBO’ is defined very broadly, which means that there are many people in the register who are not beneficiaries of the legal entity or other entity listed in the register. For example, in non-profit organisations, the statutory directors are registered as UBOs.
The finance ministry assumes that the UBO register is useful for fighting crime. Strangely, criminals and other parties with malicious intentions are allowed to browse the register unhindered, as there is no check on integrity or expertise among those who are granted access. Privacy First is fundamentally critical of the system of access proposed by the ministry.
Privacy First Has been following the UBO dossier for a long time and is concerned about global dissemination of financial personal data that is a consequence of European UBO registers and regulations privatising the fight against crime to, among others, banks and accountants, also known as ‘money laundering’.
Our consultation response is HERE .
Furthermore, Privacy First also recently worked on a European consultation on the UBO register participated. In it, Privacy First criticised, among other things, the way UBOs are categorised on the basis of ‘control’ and called attention to the curious phenomenon that non-profit organisations are supposed to have ‘ultimate beneficiaries’. This has met with much misunderstanding among such organisations for years.
Our English-language European consultation response is at HERE.
To be continued.
