Throughout 2017 and 2018 one of the most discussed European Union directives was Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 20, 2015, on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, known as the 4th AMLD.
The provisions of this directive were transposed into Maltese law through various legal notices, one of which was Legal Notice 373 of 2017, known as the Trusts and Trustees Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations, 2017, which were published on December 20, 2017. These regulations are aimed at implementing the relevant provisions on beneficial ownership information, including the register of beneficial owners, emanating from Article 31 of the 4th AMLD, in so far as they are applicable to trusts and trustees.
Following the coming into force of these regulations on January 1, 2018, all licensed trustees who are appointed as such for any trust which generates tax consequences in Malta are required to submit to the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) a declaration of beneficial ownership for every such trust, which is required to include certain details such as those of the trustee, settlor, protector, all beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries as well as any other person exercising control over a trust.
The MFSA published Frequently Asked Questions on its website to assist trustees in completing and submitting the relevant declarations of beneficial ownership
Trustees who, prior to January 1, 2018, had been appointed as trustees of trusts which generate tax consequences, had a transitory period to submit the beneficial ownership information of these trusts, which transitory period expired on July 1, 2018. On June 21, 2018, the MFSA also published Frequently Asked Questions on its website to assist trustees in completing and submitting the relevant declarations of beneficial ownership.
The regulations also set out the parties who have access to beneficial ownership information, and the extent of such access. This includes unrestricted access to various national competent authorities referred to in the regulations, such as the FIAU and national tax authorities, the Police, the Asset Recovery Bureau, the Comptroller of Customs, the Sanctions Monitoring Board, the Central Bank of Malta and the Malta Gaming Authority.
Subject persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations are also entitled to request access to the beneficial ownership information of a particular trust or trusts for the purpose of conducting customer due diligence work when establishing a business relationship, or carrying out an occasional transaction in relation to such trust.
The MFSA has developed an online platform for the Trusts Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Register, in order to facilitate the electronic submission of beneficial ownership information of trusts as well as to provide online access to the said beneficial ownership information to the entitled parties in terms of law, at differing levels as outlined above.
The MFSA will be organising information sessions about this online platform on January 8, 9 and 10 for national competent authorities, subject persons and trustees respectively.
For further information about these sessions one may contact the MFSA, by sending an e-mail on registration@mfsa .com.mt. Explanatory videos targeting the relevant parties will also be eventually uploaded on the MFSA website www.mfsa.com.mt.
Petra Camilleri is a senior analyst at the Malta Financial Services Authority within the Conduct Supervisory Unit, the remit of which includes the supervision of trustees and company service providers.