The Council of Ministers approves the creation of the Central Registry of Beneficial Ownership and its regulation

On 12 July, the Council of Ministers, at the request of the Ministries of Justice and Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, approved Royal Decree 609/2023, of 11 July, creating the Central Registry of Beneficial Ownership (the “Registry“) and approving its regulation (respectively, the “Royal Decree” and the “Regulation“). The purpose of these rules is to implement the provisions of the third and fourth additional provisions of Law 10/2010, of 28 April, on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (the “AML Law“).

This Royal Decree completes the transposition of Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the “Fifth Directive“) into Spanish law. The Royal Decree also implements into national law the provisions of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, concerning the Fifth Directive.

Below are the main new features linked to the creation of the Registry which, as we will see, creates obligations for all legal entities that carry out a commercial activity in Spain or that wish to do so.

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