A new central register will open next month into which all Irish firms will be obliged to list the beneficial owners of any major shareholdings. If the companies fail to list all the beneficial owners, they may face tens of thousands of euro in fines, and ultimately even jail time. The measure is part of new EU regulations which came into force in March - progressing rules first enacted in 2016.
Conor Sweeney, managing director of CLS Chartered Secretaries, said that this is a major change for every business - big and small - in Ireland. He explains that a beneficial owner - for the purposes of the new regulations - is anyone that owns 25% plus one share, or 25% of the voting rights of a company.
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Companies are now required to disclose this information to the company's internal register and now also to the new central register and Mr Sweeney said the information is different to the information currently on the Companies Registration Office. This information up to this had not been made public and moves on from what was in the previous legislation which now requires these details to be publicly available.
The new regulations expanded on 2016 regulations, where companies were required to set up an internal register and now these details have to be made public with filings due to start from June 22. Companies will have five months in which to file their beneficial owners, he added.
Mr Sweeney said if companies miss their deadlines, they risk fines for non-compliance of the new regulations. He added that if beneficial owners themselves do no supply the necessary information on time, the could also face fines ranging from €5,000 to €500,000.
