Estonia's Ministry of Finance to restrict access to beneficial owners data

Access to information about beneficial owners will be limited to authorities that need the information to carry out their duties and to individuals who can demonstrate a legitimate interest.

The Ministry of Finance announced that it is preparing changes to the use of the beneficial ownership register (TEKSA) and the data will no longer be freely accessible to everyone as they are now.

Evelyn Liivamägi, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Finance, said the change is needed to strike a better balance between transparency, anti-money laundering efforts and the protection of individuals' privacy.

"Beneficial ownership data must be available to those who need it to perform their duties or to prevent money laundering, but it does not need to be unjustifiably public for everyone," Liivamägi said.

The changes stem from the European Union's new anti-money laundering legal framework and European Court of Justice case law, according to which unrestricted public access to beneficial ownership data is not justified.

Currently, anyone can view beneficial ownership data through the e-Business Register. However, the EU's new legal framework provides that access will in future be based on specific grounds.

Under the new rules, beneficial ownership data will be available to competent authorities carrying out their statutory duties, obligated entities fulfilling customer due diligence and other compliance requirements, and individuals who can demonstrate a legitimate interest in viewing specific data. For these users, beneficial ownership data will remain available free of charge through the e-Business Register portal.

Beneficial ownership data help identify who ultimately controls a company. The information is important for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, fulfilling customer due diligence obligations and conducting oversight.

The changes to the use of the register will take effect on July 10. From that date, unauthenticated users will no longer be able to view beneficial ownership data.

Individuals without access rights to the beneficial ownership register may submit an application explaining why they need to view the data.