Beneficial Ownership Prosecutions Commenced

Beneficial Ownership Prosecutions Commenced

by | Jun 25, 2025 | Blog, News

At the April 2025 meeting of the CRO Stakeholder Forum, the minutes of which are regularly published on the CRO website, attendees were told that the compliance rate with the requirement to file beneficial ownership information with the RBO register is currently 88.63%.

The CRO has arranged for appropriate changes to the Companies Act 2014 to permit the RBO to adapt the enforcement process so that it now includes the option to notify the CRO about the filing of beneficial ownership information.

This notification process also notified the CRO of non-filing situations. The CRO was due to commence prosecuting the approximately 12% of companies that have filed no beneficial ownership details. The first of these cases for 2025 were due to be heard in court on the 26th May 2025.

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UK Companies slow to disclose ultimate ownership details

by | Mar 5, 2019 | Blog, News

In spite of efforts to make UK registered companies disclose their ownership through the people with significant control (PSC) register, thousands of companies don’t comply with the rules brought in to counter fraud and money laundering.

According to a 2018 Freedom of Information request to Companies House by Fortytwo Data (now Napier), over 57,000 UK businesses are not yet compliant with new regulations.

Similar requirements are in the process of being introduced in Ireland, called the Beneficial Ownership Register to be maintained by the Companies Registration Office (CRO), as part of the enforcement of the EU Fourth AML Directive.

It is a criminal offence not to follow the PSC/Beneficial Ownership requirements, with potential sanctions including fines for the companies involved and up to two years in prison for the culpable individuals.

PSCs/Beneficial Owners, are natural persons who own directly or indirectly at least 25% of a company’s shares or control at least 25% of its voting rights, or have control over appointments to the board of directors.

The PSC/Beneficial Ownership Registers are designed to reduce the ability of money launderers to hide and funnel their ill-gotten gains, using apparently legitimate corporate structures.

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