EU sanctions have a direct effect in all Member States of the EU, and are legally binding on all natural and legal persons. Ireland has strongly supported sanctions in response to Russia’s unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, while also consistently emphasising the importance of effective implementation. Twelve packages of sanctions have been agreed by the EU to date. Recent measures have had a strong focus on combatting circumvention.
In response to the findings of the ‘Cyprus Confidential’ report, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus has launched a probe into the investigation’s findings, in addition to its on-going work to establish an independent body to investigate financial crimes and sanctions evasion.
Under the EU’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, EU Member States are required to create centralised registers of Beneficial Ownership information – that is, information on those who ultimately own or control corporate and other legal entities and trusts. This requirement has been met by the establishment of a number of registers in Ireland including:
• Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies
• Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts, operated by Revenue
• Register of Beneficial Ownership of Certain Financial Vehicles, operated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
There are a variety of degrees of access to the information held on the Registers, with competent authorities and law enforcement officials granted the widest access, while ‘designated persons’ (i.e. those having anti-money laundering obligations) may access information when conducting customer due diligence. Access by members of the general public is based upon having a demonstrable ‘legitimate interest’.
Those subject to these filing obligations are also obliged to hold this beneficial ownership information locally and make it available to competent authorities and law enforcement agencies and to ‘designated persons’ when conducting customer due diligence.
In addition, the Ireland Safe Deposit Box, Bank and Payment Accounts Register (ISBAR), operated by the Central Bank of Ireland, commenced collection of information from credit institutions in 2023. This register holds information on the ownership of accounts identifiable by IBAN and on safe deposit boxes held by credit institution.
Access to this Register is limited to the following agencies from May 2023:
• The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of An Garda Síochána;
• Other officers of An Garda Síochána engaged in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of a serious criminal offence or supporting a criminal investigation concerning a serious criminal offence;
• The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB); and
• The Revenue Commissioners, for the purposes of fulfilling their obligations on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation.
Of relevance also is new draft EU anti-money laundering legislation, work on which has taken place between EU Member States, the European Parliament and European Commission throughout 2023. This legislation includes revisions to the beneficial ownership obligations outlined above. Agreement on the remaining elements is expected to be reached in the first half of 2024.
