Clifford Chance

AMLD5: Expanded trust registration requirement - Unexpected consequences for UK business

12 December 2019

EU Member States are required to implement the Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) by 10 January 2020. A key feature of AMLD5 is the requirement for all express trusts and their beneficial owners to be registered in a central national register, a radical departure from the current trust registration requirement which is limited to taxable trusts. This has far reaching consequences for both businesses and individuals in the UK as trusts are an intrinsic part of English law. As 10 January draws ever closer, the UK has yet to publish its implementation legislation so exactly what is required remains to be seen. 

In this briefing, we consider what can be done now in anticipation of the unknown to come.

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