BIC Showcase: beneficial ownership

Anti-corruption measures to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and other human rights abuses begin with knowing the client. The laws regarding disclosure of beneficial ownership (ie, the ultimate owners of corporate entities) are meant to provide that information. While disclosure has commendable purposes, laws that facilitate it may go too far. In November 2022 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) struck down public access to the EU’s beneficial ownership regime as violative of privacy and personal data protection. In the United States, the Corporate Transparency Act went into effect on 1 January 2024, establishing reporting requirements for entities registered to do business in the United States. Lawyers and bar associations are now grappling with the impact of these laws. This panel discusses the issues relating to: beneficial ownership in terms of law firms as reporting companies; whether individual lawyers and other legal professionals are company applicants; and what law firms must tell their clients and their obligations to advise them.