On 26 May, Transparency International said that delays in establishing public registers & accessibility barriers undermine EU’s progress in ending kleptocratic abuse of anonymous companies. In 2015, the 4th EU AntiAML Directive required Member States to establish beneficial ownership registers and, in 2018, in response to scandals such as the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, the EU approved the 5th AML Directive, which contained further measures for enhancing the ability of competent authorities – both inside and outside the EU – to detect and investigate money laundering and financial crime. However, Transparency International’s new report finds that access to the data may be restricted – even in countries that have public central registers in place.

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