Art. 67 Foreign legal entities and foreign legal arrangements | Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) | AML

This article extends the beneficial ownership transparency framework established in Articles 62 to 66 to legal entities and legal arrangements created or administered outside the Union.

It sets out the specific circumstances that trigger a registration obligation with a Member State's central register, covering engagement in business relationships with obliged entities, acquisition of real estate, purchase of high-value goods above defined thresholds, and the award of public contracts.

Notably, the registration trigger for business relationships with obliged entities is subject to a risk-based carve-out, meaning foreign legal entities only need to register in that scenario if the obliged entity or their sector is assessed as carrying medium-high or high money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

The article also specifies the timing of submissions, the ongoing obligation to update information when changes occur, and a transitional provision for entities already holding Union real estate at the time of application.

Important points:

Legal entities and legal arrangements created or administered outside the Union must submit beneficial ownership information to the relevant Member State's central register when they acquire real estate in the Union, purchase certain high-value goods, or are awarded a public contract — with no risk-based threshold applying to these triggers.
The business relationship trigger is conditional: foreign legal entities only need to register where the obliged entity or their sector is rated as medium-high or high risk under Union or national risk assessments, and obliged entities are required to inform those legal entities when this condition is met and request proof of registration before proceeding.
Any changes to submitted beneficial ownership information must be reported to the central register within 28 calendar days, and this obligation continues for the duration of the relevant activity (e.g., the entire business relationship or for as long as the real estate is owned).

1. Legal entities created outside the Union and trustees of express trusts or persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement that are administered outside the Union or that reside or are established outside the Union shall submit beneficial ownership information pursuant to Article 62 to the central register of the Member State where they:
  1. enter into a business relationship with an obliged entity;
  2. acquire real estate in the Union, whether directly or through intermediaries;
  3. acquire, whether directly or through intermediaries, any of the following goods from persons trading as referred to in Article 3, points (3) (f) and (j), in the context of an occasional transaction:
    motor vehicles for non-commercial purposes for a price of at least EUR 250 000 or the equivalent in national currency;
    watercraft for non-commercial purposes for a price of at least EUR 7 500 000 or the equivalent in national currency;
    aircraft for non-commercial purposes for a price of at least EUR 7 500 000 or the equivalent in national currency;
  4. are awarded a public contract for goods or services, or concessions by a contracting authority in the Union.
1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, point (a), where legal entities created outside the Union enter into a business relationship with an obliged entity, they shall only submit their beneficial ownership information to the central register where:
  1. they enter into a business relationship with an obliged entity that is associated with medium-high or high money laundering and terrorist financing risks pursuant to the risk assessment at Union level or the national risk assessment of the Member State concerned referred to in Articles 7 and 8 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640; or
  2. the risk assessment at Union level or the national risk assessment of the Member State concerned identifies that the category of legal entity or the sector in which the legal entity created outside the Union operates is associated, where relevant, with medium-high or high money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
1. The beneficial ownership information shall be accompanied by a statement setting out in relation to which of those activities the information is submitted, as well as any relevant document, and shall be submitted:
  1. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), prior to start of the business relationship;
  2. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, points (b) and (c), before completion of the purchase;
  3. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (d), before signature of the contract.
1. For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (a), obliged entities shall inform the legal entities where the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are met and require a certificate of proof of registration or an excerpt of the beneficial ownership information held in the central register to proceed with the business relationship or occasional transaction.
1. In the cases covered by paragraph 1, legal entities created outside the Union and trustees of express trusts or persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement that are administered outside the Union or that reside or are established outside the Union shall report any change to the beneficial ownership information submitted to the central register pursuant to paragraph 1 without undue delay, and in any case, within 28 calendar days thereof.
2. The first subparagraph shall apply:
  1. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), for the entire duration of the business relationship with the obliged entity;
  2. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), for as long as the legal entity or legal arrangement owns the real estate;
  3. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), for the period between the initial submission of the information to the central register and the completion of the purchase;
  4. for the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (d), for the entire duration of the contract.
1. Where the legal entity, the trustee of the express trust or the person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement meets the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 in different Member States, a certificate of proof of registration of the beneficial ownership information in a central register held by one Member State shall be considered as sufficient proof of registration.
1. Where, on 10 July 2027, legal entities created outside the Union or legal arrangements administered outside the Union or whose trustee or person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement resides or is established outside the Union own, whether directly or through intermediaries, real estate, the beneficial ownership information of those legal entities and legal arrangements shall be submitted to the central register and accompanied by a justification for that submission by 10 January 2028.
2. However, the first subparagraph shall not apply to legal entities or legal arrangements that have acquired real estate in the Union prior to 1 January 2014.
3. Member States may decide, on the basis of risk, that an earlier date applies and notify the Commission thereof. The Commission shall communicate such decisions to the other Member States.
1. Member States may, on the basis of risk, extend the obligation set out in paragraph 1, point (a), to business relationships with foreign legal entities that are ongoing on 10 July 2027 and notify the Commission thereof. The Commission shall communicate such decisions to the other Member States.