13 October The Central Register of Real Beneficiaries (CRBR) was opened. It will include data on the actual beneficiaries, i.e. natural persons who control the company. The register is intended to help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. For failure to comply with the obligation to register, there will be a financial penalty even one million Gold.
The Central Register of Real Beneficiaries has been introduced into the provisions of the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing Act, as implementation of the legislation Directive 2015/849 to 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing (the so-called IV AML Directive). It is an IT system for the processing of information about beneficiaries of real-time public, limited limited-liability companies, limited-liability companies, limited-liability companies (except public companies) and from 1 March 2020, also simple stock companies.
The problem is that there is no special information action. Experts point out that difficulties may primarily affect small and medium-sized entrepreneurs
Weapons in the fight against money laundering
The Ministry of Finance indicates that the register aims to collect accurate and up-to-date data on the beneficial owners. This is crucial to combat the phenomenon of money laundering and terrorist financing, as it prevents criminals from hiding their identity in the corporate structure of companies. The Ministry adds that CRBR will enable everyone to access information about the real beneficiaries and thus contribute to increasing confidence in the financial market and economic operators.
Difficulties in identifying the beneficial owner
According to the statutory definition, the real beneficiary is a natural or natural person: (1) exercising direct or indirect control over the company by virtue of powers which arise from legal or factual circumstances, enabling it to exercise decisive influence over the activities or activities undertaken by the company, or (2) on whose behalf an economic relationship is established or an occasional transaction is carried out.
Although the Act contains very detailed provisions in this respect, experts point out that in some situations it can be extremely complicated to determine the real beneficiary. This is mainly the case of companies in which foreign persons or companies have shares, where there are several owners with equal shares.
Lack of information can hit SMEs
The problem is that there is no special information action. Experts point out that difficulties may primarily affect small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, who have so far believed that the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules do not apply to them, whereas they are often part of the so-called tax carousel. The legislator predicted high penalties for infringements – even to 1,000,000 PLN, so it should also carry out a broad information action.
Companies are required to submit information about the actual beneficiaries within the deadline 6 months from the date of entry into force of the provisions on the Central Register of Real Beneficiaries — that is until the date 13 April 2020