The Judgement of the Court published on 22nd November 2022 ruled that in accordance with Article 1(15)(c) of Directive (EU) 2018/843 which provides for the information on the beneficial ownership to be accessible in all cases to any member of the public, such action is illegal.
It is highlighted that the invalidity concerns only the provisions on public access and not the obligation to collect, submit and update UBO information on the Registry, which are still in force.
In light of this recent judgement, several EU member states have already started blocking public access to their beneficial owner registers, with many others expected to follow. With regards to Cyprus, an update is expected by the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property.
