Only three of the European Union’s 28 member states launched beneficial ownership registers by the bloc’s June 2017 deadline and many databases will not be fully searchable until 2018 at the earliest.
EU lawmakers Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal that would expand beneficial ownership requirements to cover offshore trusts in efforts to prevent their misuse by tax evaders, money launderers and other financial criminals.
Plans to expand access to data identifying the beneficiaries of companies and trusts following a massive leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm last year now enjoy broad support in the European Parliament, say sources.
EU lawmakers seeking to strengthen the bloc's controls against financial crime beyond what is currently being considered will pitch more rigorous transparency requirements for trusts, virtual currencies, prepaid cards and bank and payment account holders.
A proposed expansion of the European Union's due diligence rules to cover trusts only partially addresses their vulnerability to criminal exploitation, leaving long-term loopholes in the bloc's controls against tax evasion and money laundering intact, say sources.
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