Businesses in Monaco are reminded to register all ‘beneficial owners’ of their companies with the government or risk legal action. The move is part of Monaco’s commitment to meet the EU’s anti-money laundering requirements.
In its assessment report published on 23rd January, Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, asked the government to submit a list of the names of all the people listed as bénéficiaire effectif, or beneficial owners, in Monaco.
As a result, the Prince’s Government is undertaking a national action plan including the gathering of information from local businesses, which is being followed up by reminders to the companies concerned.
Such a reminder was issued on Thursday 25th May.
“If a commercial company registered in the trade and industry directory is still not up to date with its declarations of beneficial owners, they are invited to contact the Economic Development Department as soon as possible,” said the government in a public statement.
If the information required is not provided to the government, the Tribunal de première instance will be asked to intervene with a view to issuing an injunction to do so.
Who are the beneficial owners?
A beneficial owner (bénéficiaire effectif) ultimately holds, directly or indirectly, at least 25% of the company’s capital or voting rights; they effectively exercise a power of control over the company by any other means, for example, they can appoint or dismiss the majority of the members of the management bodies; or it is the person or persons who legally represent the company, for example, the manager, managing director, etc.
How to declare the beneficial owners of the company?
The registration of beneficial owners must be made to the Department of Economic Development. It is carried out using a dedicated declaration form accompanied by all the supporting documents needed to establish the accuracy of the information provided.
The forms and methods of registration, which is free, are available on the website of the Prince’s Government on the following link: https://monentreprise.gouv.mc
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