Private Foundations and EU beneficial ownership registers: towards full disclosure to the general public?

Abstract Directive (EU) 2015/849, known as the “4th AML Directive”, introduced an obligation on all EU Member States to create and maintain registers of the beneficial owners of their companies and trusts. Prior to such measures coming into force in most member states, Directive (EU) 2018/843, known as the “5th AML Directive”, further introduced some significant changes to the functioning of such registers and, in particular, to the access to their information. This article considers the impact of the rules introduced under the 5th AML Directive on private foundations. After a brief analysis of the relevant provisions in the Directive, it focuses on three member states in particular: Austria, Malta, and Belgium.