A New Norwegian Money Laundering Act was adopted 1 June 2018, and is expected to enter into force this autumn. The EU Fourth Money Laundering Directive article 30 provides that companies in Member States should obtain and hold information relating to their “Beneficial Owners” and that this information should be reported to a central register, e.g. the companies or commercial register. This part of the Directive is covered by the proposal presented today. 

All legal entities operating in Norway, will, according to the proposal, have an obligation to collect and report information on their beneficial owners. The register will be publicly accessible, and reporting entities may use the information in the register as part of the customer due diligence procedure. However, reporting entities may not rely on the information in the register alone. 

Failure to report beneficial owners to the register will, according to the proposal, be punishable by fines or imprisonment.