Law News, August 2025

ADOPTED PROPOSAL OF THE PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING ACT (ZPPDFT-2C)

The adopted Act amending the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act (ZPPDFT-2C) entails partial transposition of Directive 2024/1640/EU, which amends Directive 2015/849/EU and focuses on the legitimate interest that interested parties must demonstrate to access data in the register of beneficial owners. The legal framework is also based on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, C-37/20 and C-601/20, which establishes that the general public can no longer access information about beneficial owners.

Main aim of the amendment to the law is to adapt the legal framework to these judgments and to change the status of politically exposed persons (PEPs) for honorary consular officials.

The key changes regulated by the Act are:

• Limitation of public access to the register of beneficial owners: The register of beneficial owners will no longer be publicly accessible. Free access to certain data (personal name, month and year of birth, country of permanent and temporary residence, citizenship, amount of ownership share, and form of control of beneficial owners) will be granted to individuals or legal entities that demonstrate a legitimate interest.
• Legitimate interest is established if one of the following conditions is met: the purpose of access is related to the detection and prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the legal entity wishes to obtain data about its beneficial owners, or if a natural or legal person wants to enter into a business relationship with a legal entity.
• Application for obtaining data on beneficial owners: A person demonstrating a legitimate interest must submit an application for obtaining data on beneficial owners to the register manager (AJPES) in written form. AJPES will decide on the request with a decision issued within 15 working days from the receipt of a complete application.
• Imposition of fines for violations by individuals and legal entities: A legal entity that uses information contrary to the purpose stated in the AJPES decision may be fined between 3,000 and 30,000 EUR, while the responsible person may be fined between 400 and 2,000 EUR. Sole proprietors and individuals conducting independent activities may be fined between 1,500 and 15,000 EUR.
• Change in the determination of the status of politically exposed persons (PEPs): Due to the stigmatization of honorary consuls in business relations, they have been exempted from PEP status.

The Act was published in the Official Gazette on 23 July 2025 and enters into force on the fifteenth day after publication, i.e. 7 August 2025.