Latvian Register of Enterprises to verify beneficiaries

At the end of March 2019 the draft law to amend the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing was prepared. The amendments provide series of changes, including granting Latvian Register of Enterprises additional rights to verify company’s true beneficiaries, as well as to register a warning if indicated information regarding such beneficiaries may not be true. The Law currently provides that, in certain cases, companies are obliged to apply for registration of information on beneficiaries. Amendments require documentary justification to be submitted at the request of the Latvian Register of Enterprises to verify the reliability of the information submitted. The Register of Enterprises will also be entitled to register a warning that the registered information on the true beneficiary may be false. In view of the planned framework, companies should consider once again which persons and on what basis to apply for registration in the Register of Enterprises for information on their true beneficiaries. A team of TRINITI lawyers is prepared to help by answering questions regarding the new regulation on the true beneficiaries.