The Malta Business Registry (MBR) has announced amendments to the Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations, which came into force on 10 July 2026 through Legal Notice 184 of 2026. The changes form part of Malta’s implementation of the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU) 2024/1640, which seeks to enhance the accuracy, transparency and accessibility of beneficial ownership information across the EU to support the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing, while also introducing safeguards for the protection of personal data. As a result, the amendments introduce new obligations for companies and revise the rules governing access to beneficial ownership information.

Key changes include:

The amendments introduce a revised framework governing access to the beneficial ownership information held by the Registrar, replacing the previous approach with a more structured and proportionate access regime. Notably, the amendments establish a new “legitimate interest” category, pursuant to which natural and legal persons may request access to beneficial ownership information where they are able to demonstrate that the purpose of their request is connected with, or contributes to, the prevention and combating of money laundering, predicate offences, or terrorist financing. This development reflects the broader objective of the EU anti-money laundering framework to make use of beneficial ownership data for those engaged in combating financial crime, whilst maintaining appropriate safeguards in respect of privacy and personal data.

The amendments place greater emphasis on the responsibility of companies to ensure that beneficial ownership information is accurate, complete and up to date. In particular, companies are now expressly required to take reasonable and proactive measures to determine whether any natural person exercises indirect control over the entity. This represents a shift away from a purely declaratory approach, requiring companies to look beyond their immediate ownership structure and actively assess whether control may be exercised through intermediary entities, voting arrangements, contractual rights or other means. The amendment reinforces the principle that beneficial ownership is ultimately concerned with identifying the natural persons who exercise ownership or control in substance, rather than relying solely on the legal form of a structure.

To facilitate compliance with this enhanced obligation, the amendments provide for a transitional period of six months from their entry into force, during which companies are expected to review their existing structures and take the necessary measures to identify and report any natural persons exercising indirect control who qualify as beneficial owners.  

The amendments also recognise that not all entities present the same beneficial ownership risks and introduce a simplified approach for companies and partnerships with straightforward ownership structures. Where certain prescribed conditions are satisfied, including that all shareholders are natural persons and that no undisclosed individual exercises ownership or control in excess of the applicable threshold, the entity’s register of members may continue to serve as its register of beneficial owners. This approach reflects a more proportionate application of the beneficial ownership regime, reducing unnecessary administrative burdens for simpler structures whilst preserving the overarching objective of ensuring that ownership and control remain transparent and readily identifiable.

The statutory beneficial ownership forms have also been revised to require the collection of additional identifying information in respect of beneficial owners, including their place of birth and residential address. These changes are intended  ensure that reliable beneficial ownership data is recorded and forms part of the broader measures aimed at strengthening the accuracy and integrity of the Register of Beneficial Owners. The revised forms became effective immediately upon the entry into force of the amendments, and previous versions are no longer accepted for filing.