As part of the 5th EU Money Laundering Directive, the Austrian legislature amended the Beneficial Owners Register Act (WiEReG), which was only introduced in 2018, with an amendment to the law in July 2019.

 

One of the key changes is opening the register to everyone. From January 10, 2020, anyone can view the register and find out the beneficial owners of a legal entity without having to prove a legal interest, as was previously the case.

 

In addition, the possibility of a so-called “compliance package” was decided. In the future, legal entities will be required to upload all documents in a “package” to simplify verification and thus, in a blanket manner, so to speak, fulfill their obligations under the WiEReG

Based on the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive, the Beneficial Ownership Register Act (WiEReG) came into force in January 2018. This created the obligation for Austrian legal entities (e.g. GmbHs or AGs) to report their beneficial owners in a register. Since then, this obligation to disclose, including trusts, has been more or less rigorously sanctioned by the tax office with penalties if reports or changes are not made in a timely manner.

 

In the meantime, the legislature amended this law in July 2019 as part of the EU Financial Adjustment Act 2019.
You can find further details in our Newsletter.

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