Register of Beneficial Ownership

What is a register of beneficial ownership and when should you use it?

The Register of Beneficial Owners (RBO) is one of the most well-known and crucial statutory registers as it lists the individuals who ultimately own or control a company.

This statutory requirement came into existence on the 15^th November 2016 as part of Ireland’s implementation of the 4^th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AML4D).

A beneficial owner is defined as the natural person(s) who ultimately owns/controls the corporate or legal entity through direct or indirect ownership of a sufficient percentage of shares or voting rights.

Any person who holds more than 25% of the company’s shares (whether directly or indirectly) is considered to be a beneficial owner.

In the case of indirect ownership (e.g. a trust structure or corporate entity as a shareholder), there is still a legal requirement to file and disclose details of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).

For each beneficial owner, the register must include:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Residential address
• Nature and extent of ownership/control (e.g., percentage of shares or voting rights)
• Date of becoming a beneficial owner
• PPS number (or equivalent for non-Irish residents) for identity verification

The Register details your business’ ultimate beneficial owners who have a position of real influence when it comes to the running of your business.

*Please note that AML4D have also created a separate requirement to file details of these beneficial owners with the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership (CRBO).

In order to file data with the RBO, a person must first register  on the RBO’s on-line Registration Portal in the RBO website and be issued with a Username and Password.